


Islands Under Eyelids

by Chaosandthecalm



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Crushes, Friendship, M/M, Music, Musicians, Rivalry, Slow Build, pianist kageyama, violinist hinata
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-31
Updated: 2016-08-11
Packaged: 2018-05-17 09:38:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 29,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5864290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chaosandthecalm/pseuds/Chaosandthecalm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Hinata is a violinist and Kageyama is the most talented pianist of his age. And maybe Hianta can't stop noticing how nice Kageyama's hands are. And how good he smells. And how when they play together he feels like he's flying. </p><p>Music School AU complete with awkward Kagehina flirting attempts and lots of glaring.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

He was late. He was always late. Hinata raced down the hallway, the black handle of his instrument case clutched tight in his sweating hand. He slipped on the tile floor as he rounded the corner and barely managed to catch himself before starting to run again. His bag bounced against his back and he flinched as the corner of one of his textbooks dug into his spine. Finally, he reached the door, feet screeching to a stop on the tiles. He was panting, his face hot and sweaty. He pushed his hand against his forehead, his hair sticking up as he ran his fingers through it. 

“Ok…here goes nothing.” He mumbled to himself before pushing the door open.

~~

“I got in!” he screamed into the phone, everyone around him giving him strange looks. He just smiled wide at them and bounced on the balls of his feet.

“That’s wonderful!” his mother’s voice said on the other end. His cheeks hurt from smiling and he wondered if maybe he looked like a lunatic, grinning and twirling around in front of the school.

Hinata looked back at the brick building with the words Musashino Academy of Music splayed across the front, the rolling green lawn, the huge oak doors. He had done it. 

~~

Hinata Shouyou started playing violin when he was six years old. He was with his mother, waiting for the train when he saw a man playing one at the station. The music had drifted across the platform and went straight through his chest and into his heart. He had stood, frozen, his tiny hand clutching his mother’s and wondered how something could be so beautiful.

He had begged and pleaded with his parents to let him take lessons and despite the fact that they were struggling with money they had finally agreed. He went three times a week and he was terrible at it. His fingers weren’t long enough and the bow would slip against the strings, screeching in his ear. But he kept going, kept practicing until the calluses on his hands split and bled, until his hands would cramp so badly he would cry. Still he kept going. 

After years and years of pushing himself he finally got the hang of it. And then something clicked and he became good. Extremely good. His violin teacher would sit and watch him, mouth agape, as he played. His mother would sit silently in the kitchen when he practiced with tears sliding down her cheeks as he played her favorite pieces.  
Even his father, who rarely showed emotion, would freeze and listen with his eyes wide as Hinata played. 

He loved it more than anything. He loved making something beautiful, he loved being good at it. He wanted to be the best. 

Which is why when he heard of the prestigious music school in Tokyo he knew he had to get in. It was private and you had to audition but he was determined. He told his parents one night over dinner, eyes fixed on his plate, trying to keep his voice steady. When he finally looked up he could see the concern and apprehension and felt his heart drop. 

“Boarding school? Are you sure about this Shouyou?” his mother had asked quietly, glancing over at his father. 

“You would be away from home a lot…” his father added. Hinata steeled his face into a look of determination. 

“I want this! More than anything!” 

All of the practicing, the tears, the frustration, had led to this moment. The moment where he decided to actually do something with his gift, make a future for himself. The nerves he felt at the thought of being in a new place, away from his family, was second to the excitement bubbling up inside of him. 

~~

Hinata bounded through the heavy oak doors of the dormitory and looked around with shining eyes. There were people crowding the halls, pushing bags and boxes and instruments into rooms. Parents were hovering around the edges, some crying, others stone-faced. Hinata was glad for once that both of his parents had to work.

“Are you sure you’ll be alright?” his mother had asked quietly as she folded his shirts and placed them into his suitcase. 

“I’ll be fine. I promise. I’ll call you as soon as I get settled.”

Now he clutched a small slip of paper with a number scribbled on it. He walked down the hallway, trying not to bump into anyone, and scanned the doors for his number. Finally, he found it at the end of the hallway, right next to the communal showers. 

“Here goes nothing.” He mumbled to himself, opening the door and peeking inside. It was empty, as far as he could see. There were two single beds, one on each wall, and two simple desks at the foot of each bed. The room was tiny but the window between the beds made it look bright and airy. Hinata shouldered his way inside and dumped his stuff on the bed near the opposite wall, away from the door. He hoped his roommate wouldn’t mind. 

Finally, he plopped down on his bed and looked around. The walls were barren and he was already planning on things to hang up to add more character. Before he could start unpacking the door was pushed open and a boy walked in, hands empty except for his phone which his nose was practically buried in. 

“Oh look Kenma, your roommate is here!” 

Hinata saw a man peek around the boy, smiling wide at Hinata. There were suitcases clutched in either one of his hands. One looked like a regular one, burgundy and worn. The other was shiny and black and looked almost like an instrument case. Hinata wondered what sort of instrument needed that. 

“Hello.” The boy mumbled, his eyes flicking up to look at Hinata for a moment. 

“Hi! I’m Hinata Shouyou. I hope you don’t mind that I took this bed.” 

“Kenma. It’s fine.” The boy said, his voice still quiet. Hinata looked at him for a moment longer but realized that Kenma’s eyes were darting around, not really at his phone screen anymore. He seemed nervous. 

“Alright well I’ll leave you two to get settled in.” the man carrying the suitcases said, reaching out to ruffle Kenma’s hair. It was long, past his chin and blonde expect for his roots which were black. 

The man said something else to Kenma quietly and waved at Hinata before heading out and closing the door behind him. Then they were alone, in their new room, sitting in complete silence. 

“Was that your dad?” Hinata asked suddenly, the quiet making him fidget. Kenma’s eyes flicked up to look at him. They were a startling gold. 

“Yes.” 

Hinata waited but Kenma didn’t offer any other information. 

“What instrument do you play?”

Kenma chewed on his bottom lip for a second, his gaze moving over to the shiny black case on the floor. 

“A lot of them. But I’m a composer.” 

Hinata jumped up and his eyes widened.

‘Are you serious?! That is so cool!” 

Kenma was staring at him, eyes unmoving and Hinata realized that with him standing there was barely any space between them. He cleared his throat and stepped back, sitting on the edge of his bed. 

“Sorry. I’m a bit much. My mom always says so.” 

Kenma was still looking at him and Hinata could feel nervous energy travelling up his spine. Kenma’s eyes were terrifying. It was like being stared down by a cat. 

“It’s alright. What do you play?” Kenma asked, finally breaking the eye contact. Hinata let out a quiet breath and his shoulders relaxed.

“Violin!” 

“Oh…”

Before either of them could say anything else a bell ran out through the halls. Hinata jumped and looked over at Kenma, question already on the tip of his tongue. 

“It’s time for the assembly.” Kenma said, standing up and looking down at his phone again. His thumbs flew across the screen, tapping out a message, Hinata assumed. 

“The what?” 

Kenma glanced up at him, his fingers still moving at lightning speed.

“Didn’t you read your welcome letter?” he asked. It wasn’t patronizing, just curious. Hinata shrugged.

“I just read the part that said. ‘Congratulations you’re accepted.’”

Hinata thought he saw Kenma smile, just slightly.

“Well every year on the first day we have an assembly. The top three students perform and the dean makes a speech.”

“Sounds boring.” 

“Yes.” 

Hinata grinned at Kenma’s response and followed him out of the room.

~~

The auditorium was completely packed and Hinata followed Kenma as he wove through the crowd expertly, his eyes still trained downward. Hinata watched him in awe. He could barely make it down an empty street without tripping and falling on his face. 

“Here.” Kenma said quietly, turning his face so Hinata could hear him. They made their way down a row of seats, far enough from the stage that it wasn’t intimidating. 

“So what now?” Hinata asked, sitting down in a plush red seat, his hands gripping the armrests. Kenma was back to looking down at this phone and Hinata saw the screen for a half a second. It was music, he realized. Kenma was writing music. Hinata watched as Kenma tapped out notes on his screen, filling up the tiny sheet music. 

“You write on that thing?” he asked. Kenma froze, his eyes sliding over to look at Hinata.

“I’m always writing.” He said simply, his hands dropping into his lap. Hinata wondered if maybe he overstepped but Kenma didn’t seem angry. He turned his eyes to the stage. There was a piano in the middle, grand and pitch black. It was beautiful and Hinata had always wondered what it would be like to play piano. It always seemed…boring. Predictable. 

After a few minutes the room started to settle down, like there was some kind of invisible signal that Hinata missed. A spotlight appeared onstage and the lights in the auditorium dimmed. Hinata watched, his legs fidgeting against the plush fabric of his seat as a short man in a brown suit made his way to the microphone. Hinata remembered him from his audition. He was the dean of the school, Yoshido Aito. 

“Hello everyone. Welcome.” He said as soon as he stepped into the circle of light on stage. His voice was quiet but the noise in the room instantly fell away to nothing.

“Before I make my welcoming speech I would like to showcase some of the talent we have this year. It should give you a better idea of what this school is about.” He said, gesturing to the piano behind him.

“First up, one of the most promising young talents I have ever seen in my entire career. Tobio, come to the stage please.” 

The dean gestured to someone offstage then walked away, taking a seat just out of view on a small folding chair. 

Hinata watched as a boy walked onto the stage. His movements were graceful, but tense, his shoulders held rigidly. His eyes followed the boy as he sat behind the piano. Hinata frowned as the boy’s blue eyes scanned the sheet music in front of him, his eyebrows drawn together in scary concentration. An instant dislike for the boy made its way into Hinata’s chest. He was the polar opposite of what Hinata loved about music. Freedom and light and happiness. This boy was precision and stiffness and frightening intensity. 

“What’s with that guy?” he whispered, leaning closer to Kenma. He glanced up from his phone for a second before dropping his eyes down again.

“Kageyama Tobio. He’s a bit intense. Just wait.”

Hinata frowned and sat back. The answer was cryptic and not at all helpful so he waited, watching the boy (Kageyama apparently) close his eyes for a second and clench his hands, shaking them out. 

‘He has nice hands’ Hinata heard himself think before a flush spread through his face. What a strange thought. He supposed piano players had to have nice hands. He sunk down into his seat.

Kageyama shifted on the bench and lowered his fingers to the keys…and then he started playing. 

Hinata’s chest constricted and his mouth fell open, his breath hitching in his throat. The music soared through the room and hit him square between the eyes. He felt like he could float away on it. He saw Kenma look over at him out of the corner of his eye but he couldn’t look away from Kageyama. His blue eyes followed the notes on the sheet in front of him with quick flicks and his hands flew across the keys so gracefully that it looked effortless. Hinata had listened to this piece of music a million times, even played it himself, but it had never sounded like this. So rich and full and airy.  
Hinata wanted to listen to him play forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew this is a beast of a thing to write. It's been sitting on my laptop for a couple of months and I just needed to get it out.  
> Also the school name is real but I don't know anything about the actual school.


	2. Chapter 2

“Holy crap…” he breathed out as they left the auditorium. 

“Hm?”

“That…Kageyama guy. He’s incredible.”

“He is. And he knows it.” 

Hinata felt himself frown and he looked over at Kenma. His face was as impassive as ever. 

“What do you mean?” 

“He’s a first year.” Kenma stated simply. Hinata’s eyes widened and he stopped in his tracks, someone slamming into his back. 

“What?!”

“Well he did the middle school program last year. But it’s not a boarding school, just a day program.”

Hinata’s brain was spiraling with this new information. The fact that him and Kageyama were in the same year was mind blowing. The amount of skill he had when playing was beyond anything Hinata had ever witnessed. Suddenly he felt terrifyingly inadequate. 

“So does that mean he’ll be in my classes?” he blurted, feeling his face flush as soon as the words were out. It had come out sounding almost hopeful. Kenma’s thumbs paused in their typing and he looked at Hinata for a long searching moment. 

“I suppose.” He answered simply and continued walking, Hinata trailing after him.

~~

The next day Hinata woke up late, as usual. He threw on the first thing he could find in his suitcase and snatched up his violin case, pushing the door to their room open and running out into the hallway. He dodged some other late risers, his sneaks squeaking against the tile floor. 

His first class was history of music and as dull as that sounded he didn’t want to be late. Especially since Kenma told him that the teacher was kind of a hard ass. 

He finally made it to the right door, double checking the smudged writing on his hand to make sure and pushed it open. Everyone else was already seated but it looked like class hadn’t begun. Hinata let out a sigh of relief and scanned the room. There were some available seats in the front and he found one against the window and sat down. He tucked his violin case under his chair and folded his arms against the desk. 

A moment later the door opened and a tall man in a gray suit and wire rimmed glasses walked in, his stride confident and graceful. He walked over to the board and wrote his name in neat, looping hand writing. 

“Hello and welcome to history of music.”

~~

“That was intense…” Hinata sighed, his violin case bouncing against his leg as he walked. Kenma glanced over at him before looking back down at his phone.

“What did you expect?” he said simply, tapping away. Hinata just sighed again and followed him towards the cafeteria. His first classes were terrifying and exhilarating. The professors were all professional musicians and Hinata had stared in awe as they played. The first day was mostly about observation, he had yet to touch his own instrument which made him antsy. Despite that he was relieved when he walked out of the classroom and saw Kenma leaning against the wall and waiting for him so they could go to lunch together. 

Kenma was his usual quiet self, completely calm and distracted. Hinata didn’t mind. Actually enjoyed the comfortable silence between them. He looked down the hall and almost stopped in his tracks. There was a guy by the door of the cafeteria, leaning against the edge of the doorway, one long leg propped up on the wall. He was huge, tall and broad and his black hair was spiked in the back and long in the front, covering up on eye. Hinata watched as he lifted one hand, a drumstick clutched loosely in it, and started twirling it slowly between long fingers. 

“Uh Kenma…” he said quietly, nudging his friend. In the same moment the guy glanced over and caught sight of them, his mouth turning up into a predatory smirk. He walked toward them and Hinata felt his stomach drop. He was even taller up close. The guy didn’t say anything, just marched up to Kenma, wrapping one strong arm around his waist and hoisting him up until his legs were wrapped around him. 

“Hello kitten…” the guy purred against the side of Kenma’s face, which had turned a spectacular shade of red.

“Put me down Kuroo.”

“Never.” He said, smiling so wide it looked painful before kissing Kenma lightly on the cheek and setting him down gently. 

“Who’s this?” Kuroo asked turning his gold eyes on Hinata. They were similar to Kenma’s but warmer. Hinata managed to smile, the corners of his mouth wavering. This whole exchange was giving him heart palpitations.

“Kuroo this is Shouyou. Shouyou this is my…this is Kuroo.”

Kuroo smiled again and his eyes sparkled. He reached one large hand out and Hinata grasped it, hoping his palm wasn’t sweaty. 

“So what do you want me to call you? Because I’m sure Shouyou isn’t what you go by.” 

Hinata saw Kenma frown slightly.

“It’s uh…Hinata Shouyou. But you can call me whatever you like.”

Kuroo kept smiling as he slung an arm around Kenma’s shoulders. Hinata saw Kenma smile softly and lean closer to Kuroo. Oh.

~~

They found a table in the back that was empty, Hinata placing his tray across from Kenma. Kuroo had nothing in front of him but was leaning over and stealing bites from Kenma’s lunch, which earned him frowns and light slaps on the hand. 

“So Hinata Shouyou. What do you play?” Kuroo asked, leaning back in his chair. Hinata could feel those eyes on him and it made him feel jittery. Kuroo was tall and broad and so effortlessly cool that Hinata almost didn’t know how to act around him. He glanced at Kenma who was engrossed in his writing.

“Uh…violin.”

“Oh so you’re a classical nerd.” Kuroo responded, his smile widening. Hinata felt himself blush and nod slightly.

“That’s great. I wish I had the patience to do what you do.”

“And what about you?” Hinata asked. Kuroo’s easy confidence and warm smiles were calming, in a way that Kenma’s comfortable silences were. For the first time since they met Hinata began to see why they would make a good match. 

“He hits things with sticks.” Kenma mumbled, slapping Kuroo’s hand again as it reached toward his tray.

“Hey, not nice. I play percussion thank you very much. I’m the back bone of music.” He said, sticking his tongue out at Kenma who didn’t even bother to look up from his phone. 

“That’s amazing!” Hinata exclaimed, his hands landing on the table with a slap.

Kuroo looked at him with wide eyes and a surprised laugh burst out of him. 

“You don’t hold anything back do you?” he asked. Kuroo was smiling so widely that his eyes were almost closed, his cheeks puffing out. Hinata thought he looked kind of dorky but he would never say that out loud. 

Before he could respond the bell rang and he jumped up, picking up his barely eaten food.

“I have to go! I have music composition next.” 

“See you later.” Kuroo said, giving him a small wave. Hinata turned but not before he caught a glimpse of Kuroo leaning in and kissing the corner of Kenma’s mouth softly. His face burned as he walked down the hall to class. 

~~

The room for music composition was nothing like the others he had been to. There were raised bleachers with chairs on each level, music stands in front of every one. Excitement raced through him as he found a chair on the middle bleacher and sat down. His case was bouncing in his lap and he looked around the classroom. Students were coming in slowly, selecting seats and murmuring excitedly. It seemed like everyone was ready to show off their skills. 

The door opened again and everyone went completely silent. Hinata looked up just in time to see Kageyama walked into the room, his head held high and his spine straight. He walked slowly across the room and sat down in the front row, hands coming together in his lap. Hinata felt his heart thud against his chest. He would get to hear Kageyama play again.

The professor walked in a moment later. He was younger than all of the others, with longer blonde hair that was pushed back with a thin headband. He was wearing cargo pants and a tight t-shirt. Hinata watched him stop in the front of the room and glance over the students, his arms crossed and his eyebrows furrowed.

“So this is it huh?” 

Everyone sank just a little bit into their seats.

“Well I guess it’ll do. I’m Ukai. Don’t call me Professor Ukai unless you want to be thrown out.”

~~

Ukai made them introduce themselves and explain what they played and why. When the time came for Hinata to stand he could feel excitement bubbling in his stomach. 

“Hello I’m Hinata Shouyou.” All eyes were on him, except for Kageyama’s which were trained on the board in front of him.

“I play violin and I guess I play because…. I don’t know how _not_ to.” 

Everyone looked at him for a long moment and Hinata could see Ukai’s mouth turn up just a little bit, the first sign of amusement he showed. Hinata felt his cheeks flush and he glanced at Kageyama before he sat down only to find him staring back. He fumbled and almost landed on the floor but caught himself at the last moment. When he looked again Kageyama had already turned away. 

When it was his turn Kageyama stood slowly. 

“I’m Kageyama Tobio. I play piano. I play because I’m good at it.” His voice was deeper than Hinata had imagined and the words rolled over him like waves. Everyone sighed and rolled their eyes at Kageyama’s statement but Ukai just threw his head back and barked out a short laugh.

“A good reason as any. Alright, that’s enough of that.” 

Kageyama sat down, his back held rigidly. Hinata wondered if there was anything that could possibly fluster him. He himself was a stammering, blushing mess about half of the time. On the other hand, it seemed like a hurricane could blow through the room and Kageyama would remain where he was, sitting perfectly still. 

“Now I want to discuss your first assignment.” 

Hinata’s hands itched as he tore his eyes away from Kageyama’s back and focused on Ukai. 

“You’re going to compose a piece. You will work with a partner. You will have three months to do so. And this will be your one and only grade for this quarter which means if you fail it will affect your final grade immensely.”

All of the student’s faces went completely white and Hinata felt his own throat close up. He could fail an entire class based on one assignment. He scanned the other students and wondered who he would ask to be his partner. Another violinist? A woodwind? His eyes darted over to Kageyama and he jerked his head away. There was no way.

“I will be assigning partners.”

Outraged murmurs spread over the classroom. Girls who were clutching the hands of their friends looked near tears. 

Ukai picked up a sheet of paper, everyone’s names lined up perfectly and frowned at it. 

“Alright. First up…”

Hinata listened as he called out names in pairs. Some pairings were met with shy glances, other with eye rolls and sighs. 

“Hinata Shouyou….” 

Hinata’s pulse kicked up as Ukai scanned the paper. Then he saw the gleam in his eyes and the slight quirk of his mouth and knew before the name was even called what was about to happen.

“And Kageyama Tobio.”

Steely blue eyes swung around and landed on him and Hinata felt himself slump in his seat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone who gave this a chance! I hope it turns out decent!


	3. Chapter 3

“Holy shit you got Kageyama?” Kuroo asked, raising one eyebrow. Hinata just nodded, his mouth full of rice. The dinner rush was finally dying down and the tables around them were mostly empty. Kuroo blew out a low whistle and twirled a finger into Kenma’s hair. 

“Good luck.”

“Don’t scare him…” Kenma mumbled, not taking his eyes off of his phone.

“I’m just giving him a head’s up.”

“A head’s up about what?” Hinata asked once he swallowed his food. Kuroo just smiled slowly, his gold eyes flashing. 

“Kageyama is impossible to work with. People have dropped out because of him.”

Hinata felt a cold dread in his veins. Was he really that bad?

“Dropped out? Why?”

“Nobody can keep up with him.” Kuroo said simply, shrugging one broad shoulder. 

~~

The next day when he got to class Kageyama was already there, sitting in the same seat as the day before. Hinata hesitated, wondering if he should sit next to him. Kageyama was watching him wearily and finally Hinata made up his mind and plopped down in the chair beside his. 

“Hey partner.” He said brightly, looking at Kageyama’s’ profile. His face was completely blank except for a slight crease between his eyebrows. His blue eyes swept over to Hinata for a moment before moving away again.

“Hello.” His voice was tight, like the word grated against his throat.

“So when should we…you know….do this thing?” Hinata asked, cringing at the awkward words. Kageyama shifted in his seat slightly and Hinata waited with bated breath.

“Meet me in the third floor study room. It has the best piano. Tonight after dinner.” Kageyama’s eyebrows were furrowed even further and he was glaring at the board in front of them, like talking to Hinata was causing him physical pain.

Hinata frowned back and nodded silently, not trusting himself to be civil.

~~

It took three tries for Hinata to find the right door. When he pushed it open he saw that Kageyama was already there, sitting at the piano with that same rigid posture. 

“Sorry I’m late.” 

“Don’t let it happen again.” Was the response and Hinata frowned, walked past the piano and placed his violin case on a desk and walked the length of the small room. It was bare except for a few stools that seemed to discarded from classrooms and dingy music stands. The piano stood in the middle of the room, the paint on it dull and chipping. The ones in the classrooms were all shiny and brand new.

“So what are we going to write?” Hinata asked, jumping up onto a stool and swinging his legs out in front of him. If looks could kill the one Kageyama sent him would have put him six feet under. Hinata felt his shoulders go rigid.

“Are you an idiot? We’re not ready to start composing yet. We’ve never even played together. For all I know you could be terrible.” Kageyama’s voice was hard and clipped and it made the hair on the back of Hinata’s neck stand up. The things he was saying made sense but the way he said them made Hinata’s blood boil.

“Fine. And I got in here didn’t I? So I can’t be that terrible.”

“Plenty of untalented people go to this school.” He responded without missing a beat. He was always so cool and calm. 

“Whatever. Just pick something to play already.” Hinata grumbled, focusing on the floor in front of him. He listened to the rustle of papers as Kageyama shifted through sheets of music. Hinata glanced up and watched him. His fingers were long and graceful. His hands were big and his skin looked soft. Hinata felt a flush creeping up his neck and looked away quickly. What a weird thing to think. 

“Here.” Kageyama finally said, thrusting out a sheet of paper. Hinata jumped down from the stool and strode over, taking it. It was Beethoven’s Spring Sonata. He smiled and walked over to where his violin case sat on a desk. He had played this piece a million times, knew it like the back of his hand. 

“Don’t screw up.” He heard over his shoulder and that same prickly feeling that he always seemed to get around Kageyama came back. He frowned and snapped his case open, taking his violin out carefully, holding it loosely in his hand. 

Kageyama glared at him over the top of the piano and Hinata glared right back. There was a tense silence over the room and Hinata couldn’t hear anything but his own heavy breathing. 

“Ready?” Kageyama asked through clenched teeth and Hinata managed to jerk out a nod, raising his violin and propping it up on his shoulder. There was a pause and then the music started. Hinata felt his heart skip. Whatever dislike he felt for Kageyama he couldn’t lie; he was incredible. The music drifted beautifully through the room and straight into his chest. He closed his eyes and listened. 

The notes flowed so smoothly it was like it wasn’t even a person playing…it was almost impossibly perfect. Hinata heard the down stroke of a note and lifted his bow, sliding it across the strings. 

He felt a shift in the room as he started playing. He kept his eyes closed, listening. The music flowed together like a river, rushing through him and leaving him breathless. It felt amazing. He had never played like this before. He wanted to play forever.

Then Kageyama stopped, his fingers slamming against the keys. Hinata’s eyes shot open and met Kageyama’s cold, blue ones.

“What the hell was that?” Kageyama spit out, staring at him. Hinata frowned and looked down at his violin.

“What? I thought it sounded pretty good….”

Kageyama snorted and stood up, pushing away from the piano. 

“I’m leaving. Come back tomorrow, but be prepared to actually try.” 

He walked out of the room and Hinata felt his blood run hot with anger. His hand squeezed his bow so hard it was painful.

~~

Hinata stormed into their room and tossed his violin case onto his bed.

“I hate him!” 

Kenma glanced up at him for a moment and Hinata could swear he saw him smirk.

“What happened?” 

“He’s just so…ugh! He’s thinks he’s god’s gift to music and I’m just some…idiot who doesn’t know anything! It’s annoying!”

Kenma looked up at him again and tilted his head.

“You look weird.”

Hinata stopped and looked over at him.

“Weird how?”

“I don’t know…did something else happen?”

Hinata felt his face flush. He didn’t know how to tell Kenma about the music…how perfect it had felt. Like his soul was flying. He shook his head slightly and looked away.

“No, nothing. Just stupid Kageyama….”

Kenma hummed quietly and turned his attention back to his phone. 

~~

The lessons the next day were exceptionally boring. Hinata found his mind drifting as he looked around the room. It was still warm outside, the sun bright as it came through the tall windows. He could feel the nervous anticipation in his stomach at the thought of seeing Kageyama again. His hands clenched against his chair and he could feel the slight bubble of anger rising. 

“What does he know…” he mumbled, turning towards the window again. 

Stupid Kageyama. Stupid assignment. 

~~

Ukai was already standing at the board when Hinata walked in, writing something in slightly messy writing. 

“Hinata! Come here for a moment.” He said when he spotted Hinata, waving him over. Hinata still felt wary around his teacher. When he got closer Ukai wrapped one hand, the one not holding a marker, around his shoulder and pulled him in. 

“Listen…I know Kageyama can be a little…hard to handle sometimes.”

Hinata resisted the urge to snort.

“But I think you can do it. So hang in there.” He finished, slapping one large hand down onto Hinata’s back causing him to stumble forward.

“Um…thank you?”

Ukai just grinned and gestured him to take a seat. When Hinata turned around he froze. Kageyama was sitting in his usual seat in the front row and staring right at him. His eyebrows were furrowed and his arms were held rigidly at his sides. Hinata glared back at him and pointedly walked up the risers and found a seat in the back row. He flopped down in a chair and tucked his violin case under it. He continued to glare at the back of Kageyama’s head but Kageyama didn’t even bother to glance back the entire lesson. 

~~

“Ready to try again?” Kageyama asked him coldly when he walked into the music room. Hinata glared at him and placed his violin case onto the nearest table, opening it.

“I don’t understand what was wrong with…”

“Of course you don’t.” Kageyama said, cutting him off. Hinata almost growled in frustration.

“Let’s just get this over with.” He said through clenched teeth. Kageyama didn’t waste any time, just started playing. Hinata thought that even if he heard him every day for the rest of his life it would still leave him breathless. He raised his violin slowly and rested it on his shoulder. 

As soon as his bow moved across the strings the sounds wove themselves together, Kageyama’s music and his combining into something completely indescribable. Hinata waited for the slamming of keys but Kageyama kept playing, so he didn’t stop either. Everything around him felt lighter, the room felt dreamlike. It felt like floating. He couldn’t believe that they were making something so beautiful. Finally, they reached the end of the song and Hinata opened his eyes, (he didn’t even remember closing them) and looked over at Kageyama. He was glaring, which was expected at this point, but there was a slight flush on his cheekbones. Hinata felt his breath catch. 

“How was it?” he asked, sounding breathless which made him blush with embarrassment. Kageyama dropped his eyes.

“It was fine. Be here again tomorrow.” 

Kageyama got up swiftly, collecting his sheet music, and walked out of the room without another word. Hinata felt a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

~~

“Fine? He said it was fine? Are you sure he didn’t say ‘Wow Hinata that was pure garbage’? Cause that sounds more like something he would say.” 

Hinata grinned over at Kuroo who was staring at him incredulously.

“Nope. I heard it with my own two ears.” 

Kuroo let out a low laugh and leaned back in his chair. Kenma was sitting next to him, Kuroo’s arm slung over his shoulders. Hinata still blushed when he thought about them together. It wasn’t like it bothered him. He could see how happy they were, and that’s all that really mattered. But then he would imagine them kissing…or touching and his face would heat up and he would have to slap his cheeks to snap out of it. 

“Maybe you’re like the chosen one? You’re the one who’s going to break Kageyama.”

Hinata rolled his eyes and looked down at his bowl of rice. He wondered if he was actually different. Or if maybe Kageyama said that to all of his other partners before he reduced them to nothing and made them drop out. 

“Don’t overthink it.” 

He looked up at Kenma’s soft voice and smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to say thank you for everyone who left comments and kudos so far! So incredibly amazing!


	4. Chapter 4

“Let’s play this.” 

Hinata walked over and took the sheet of music from Kageyama’s hand. The first thing he noticed was that it was hand written, notes small and tight on the lines. The next thing was that it was complicated. Extremely complicated.

“Uh…”

“Can’t handle it?” 

Hinata’s gaze shot up to meet Kageyama’s. It was as cool and sure as always but there was something underneath the blue of his irises. A fire that wasn’t there before. Hinata steeled his face.

“Let’s do it.” 

Kageyama’s mouth quirked and for a second Hinata thought he would actually smile but his glare was back the next second, eyebrows drawn together. Hinata walked over to his stand and placed the sheet on top of it, picking up his violin and placing it on his shoulder. 

Kageyama gave him a small nod as the indication to start and Hinata concentrated on the sheet in front of him. Just as he thought, it was extremely complicated. The notes came rapid fire and went from whistling high’s to booming lows. His fingers were aching almost immediately, his bow sliding across the strings.

He was focusing so hard on what he was playing that he almost didn’t listen to the piece. But then it hit him right in the chest. It was gorgeous. Dark and looming, like being a forest. He dared to glance over at Kageyama who was staring straight at him. He looked terrifying. His blue eyes sparkled with an intensity that Hinata hadn’t seen up to that point. Just then his bow slipped and send a screech through the room. Kageyama growled, slamming his hands down on the keys. 

“Sorry!” 

“You dumbass!” 

Hinata squared his shoulders and frowned at him.

“Maybe if you weren’t staring at me the whole time that wouldn’t have happened!” 

Kageyama reeled back like Hinata had slapped him.

“I…I wasn’t staring!” 

Hinata snorted and dropped his eyes to inspect his strings. They all seemed intact which was almost a miracle after that. The music still rang inside of his mind, like a stormy sea. 

“That piece…”

“Nobody had ever gotten that far on it.” 

Hinata looked up, his eyebrows drawing together. 

“Huh?”

Kageyama was glaring at the wall, his hands clenched on the side of the bench he was sitting on.

“Everyone who had ever tried to play it always stopped right away. You’re the only one…” he took a deep breath and looked back at Hinata. It was like a punch in the stomach. 

Those eyes bore into him, leaving him almost lightheaded. 

“You’re the only one who’s been able to keep up.” 

Hinata felt a flush spreading through him and ducked his head. The last thing he needed was for Kageyama to see him blushing. 

“Was that a compliment?” he asked, looking up and smiling brightly. Kageyama glared at him and stood up, snatching up the sheet music. 

“No. Just an observation.”

“Uh huh. Sure.”

Kageyama came over to him to take the sheet music from his stand and for a second Hinata was frozen. Up close Kageyama smelled like clean laundry and wood chips and something fresh, like grass. His skin looked soft, shades darker than Hinata’s. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” He mumbled, brushing past Hinata and walking out of the room. Hinata couldn’t move. Why the hell was he noticing these things? He hadn’t noticed them about Kenma or any of his friends back home…

He shook his head and turned to put his violin away. 

~~

That night he kept himself busy with homework from his other classes. History of music was boring and reading made his head hurt but it was better than thinking about Kageyama. Which is what he seemed to be doing a lot of lately. He frowned and clenched his hands in his hair, focusing harder on the page in front of him. 

Kenma was sitting on his bed, tapping away on his laptop. Hinata always wanted to ask him what he was writing but didn’t know if he would be overstepping. After trying to read for another few minutes he realized it was hopeless. There was already a dull throbbing at the base of his skull and his eyes were going blurry.

“Kenmaaaa…” he whined, turning around in his chair to pout pathetically at his roommate. Kenma’s eyes looked at him over the top of his laptop before dipping back down to what he was doing.

“Yes Shouyou?” 

“Reading is terrible. Distract me.” He mumbled, resting his chin on the back of his chair. He couldn’t see Kenma’s face but his gold eyes were blank, not giving anything away.

“You’ll fall behind in your lessons.”

“I can’t focus!”

Kenma looked up again and this time there was something like amusement on his face.

“What’s on your mind?”

Hinata thought about telling Kenma. Maybe even asking him for advice. But then he realized that Kuroo would also find out and he decided against it. He didn’t know what he was thinking anyway. 

“It’s…. it’s nothing.” He said quietly after a pause, turning back around to his book. There was a long silence and then the soft tapping resumed. 

~~

Hinata woke up the next day feeling jittery. There was a buzzing under his skin and he wondered for a moment if maybe he was sick. Kenma had placed a cool hand against his forehead when he mentioned it and assured him he was fine. Still, he was on edge. Every class that passed the feeling got worse until he felt like he might vibrate right out of his skin. 

During lunch he could nothing more but listen to Kuroo and Kenma, smiling and nodding but not really absorbing any of the conversation. Walking to the music composition classroom made his legs feel wobbly and then it hit him. 

He was nervous. He was nervous about seeing Kageyama. But why? His breathing felt heavy in his chest as he stopped, leaning against a wall in the hallway. Nothing had changed. Had it? Kageyama had praised him, sort of. He had conceded that Hinata wasn’t terrible. 

Hinata closed his eyes and realized that he was thinking about Kageyama close to him, leaning in to grab the sheet of music from his stand. The way he could just barely feel the heat of his skin and could smell him, so warm and alive. Hinata’s heart was beating against his chest in a steady rhythm, like it was trying to escape. 

“What is this?” he whispered. The halls around him were almost empty and he was probably going to be late. He pushed off the wall and made his way to class, his hands starting to shake the closer he got. 

Kageyama was in his usual spot in front of the board. The chair next to him was empty and it was one of the few ones that were since class was about to start. But Hinata saw why it was. There in the middle of the chair was Kageyama’s notebook. Hinata’s pulse kicked up and he thought he might actually puke. Kageyama glanced over at him and their eyes held for a long moment, then with a slight nod Kageyama confirmed it. He had saved the seat for Hinata. 

~~

“Hey Kenma?” 

They were sitting in the hallway, enjoying a quiet moment before their next classes. Kenma was on his phone, his eyes half lidded and tired looking. Hinata very pointedly ignored the mouth shaped bruise underneath Kenma’s collar.

“Hm?”

“How did you…realize you liked Kuroo?” 

Kenma’s fingers froze for a split second and then he resumed his typing. He shrugged one thin shoulder.

“I don’t know…I just started to notice things about him. Things I didn’t notice about anyone else.”

Hinata felt his heart starting to beat faster. 

“Things like what?”

“Like…how his hands looked when he was playing drums. And how his hair was always extra crazy in the morning and I wanted to run my fingers through it. How warm he was after a show, how much I wanted to touch him. Things like that.”

It was the longest that Kenma had ever talked in one go and Hinata was left staring at him. All of those things…made his palms sweaty. He had noticed Kageyama’s hands. It was the first thing he noticed. But maybe it was just an observation? Because he was a piano player. 

“Why do you ask?” 

Hinata’s breath caught in his throat and he looked at the opposite wall. 

“No reason…just curious.” 

He could see Kenma’s eyes flicker over to him for a second but he didn’t say anything else on the subject. 

~~

Kageyama was already in the room when Hinata got there. His last class had gotten out late and he had to run the entire way. He prepared himself to be berated for the tardiness but Kageyama just glanced up and handed him a sheet of paper. It was the same one from yesterday and Hinata felt excitement building in the pit of his stomach. He had been itching to try playing it again. 

“Ready?” Kageyama asked once Hinata was finished setting up. He gave him a quick nod and they started. This time around Hinata actually listening to the music, his eyes darting over the notes almost subconsciously. It really was incredible. The tone of it was dark but it was littered with light, like the sun peeking through the tree tops. Kageyama was pointedly not looking at him this time, just staring down at the keys. Hinata realized that he didn’t have sheet music. His bow dropped and he gaped at the other boy. Kageyama’s eyebrows furrowed and he looked up when he realized Hinata wasn’t playing. 

“What the hell?” he asked, glaring over at Hinata.

“You wrote this didn’t you?” 

Kageyama froze, his eyes widening. HInata felt something stirring inside of him. Was he going to puke? 

“I…. yeah so? If you think It’s that bad, we can play something else.” He said, looking away and glaring at the wall. Hinata realized what the feeling inside of him was…. admiration.

“You’re amazing!” 

Kageyama jerked his head around and stared at him, mouth open and eyes wide. 

“Huh…”

“How did you do this!? It’s incredible!” 

There was a red flush on Kageyama’s face and Hinata felt his heart jump in his chest but he just moved towards him, grinning like an idiot.

“You’re like a genius!”

“Don’t say embarrassing things like that!” Kageyama finally said, his hands clenched into fists.

“But it’s true! Holy cow!”

They were face to face now, Hinata standing next to the bench that Kageyama was sitting on. Kageyama was glaring at him fiercely but his face was still red. 

“Dumbass, it’s just a piece of music…”

“But it’s so…woah! Like walking through the forest at night and you see the sun coming up! Or like a cloudy night sky and then the moon peeks through! It’s amazing!!”

Kageyama was gaping at him, frozen in his seat. 

“You…are ridiculous.” He said quietly, turning away. Hinata was still bouncing on his heels next to him, his hands clenched around his violin. He imagined Kageyama, his hands clenching a pencil as he scribbled out the tiny notes of the sheet of paper. He imagined him playing it over and over until he had it memorized. His heart was thundering in his chest.

“I think…that’s enough for today.” Kageyama said, breaking the tense silence. Hinata felt disappointment rush through him but he stepped back, letting Kageyama stand. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” Hinata said. Kageyama paused on his way out of the room and turned to give him a slight nod. His cheeks were still tinged pink and Hinata’s heart skipped.


	5. Chapter 5

Hinata dreamed of Kageyama that night. It was swirls of color and blue eyes and soft skin and music. He could swear that he could smell that same clean laundry scent when he woke up. He opened his eyes slowly, feeling the flush on his face and buried his face in his hands. 

“Stop it.” He grumbled to himself, slapping his cheeks lightly. He knew Kenma wasn’t in the room. He had left the night before, telling him that he would staying with Kuroo for the weekend. They had the choice to go home but the drive was so far that he had decided against it. Not to mention Kageyama was staying and he had mentioned that he wanted to get some extra practice in. 

He thought about being holed up in that tiny room with Kageyama and his palms went clammy. What the hell was even happening to him? He sighed and flipped onto his side, curling his knees into his chest. Everything felt strange and too bright and too loud. And his mind was never _not_ thinking of Kageyama. It was starting to be a problem. In class he had to tear his eyes away from the side of his face, and when they played together it was like his heart was swelling.  
Hinata reached over to his bedside table and felt around for his phone. He scrolled through his contacts and wondered who he could talk to about this. Maybe Kenma? He knew that Kenma wouldn’t make fun or make him feel stupid. But the thought of putting any of these feeling out into the world made it feel way too real. He finally gave up and tossed his phone onto the floor where it landed with a soft thump against the carpet. 

It was only noon and Kageyama said to meet him at 3. Hinata got up and stretched, his muscles feeling tight and his body sluggish. He used to bike to school every morning but these days he didn’t do much other than play and study. And he was starting to feel it. He looked out of the window, at the sun shining and the blue sky. It was perfect weather for running. He dug through his closet, pulling out his old volleyball shorts from when he used to play in middle school (they had a sports requirement for graduation and it had seemed fun) and a ratty old t shirt. 

The halls were completely empty when he left his room. Almost everyone had gone home for the weekend. The handful that stayed only did because the trip was too long for it to be worth it. Hinata ran down the stairs and out of the huge, oak front doors. The weather outside was perfect, sunny and warm with a slight breeze. He took a deep breath and smiled. He loved music more than anything but after a week of being inside of that stuffy building with all of the dusty instruments and old sheet music it was incredible to finally be outside in the fresh air. 

He took off down the sidewalk that wound through the campus. It was beautiful, with rolling green lawns and enough trees to provide shade so he didn’t burn. His skin was extremely sensitive. 

Hinata turned a corner and saw someone else running ahead of him, their pace steady. As the trees cleared and the sun shone down Hinata felt his heart skip. He could recognize the back of that head anywhere (seeing as he spent most of his time staring at it). He fell back just a little to make sure Kageyama didn’t spot him. His breathing seemed extremely loud and he tried to even it out. Kageyama ran the same way he did everything else, gracefully and effortlessly. 

Hinata tried to imagine what he would do if Kageyama turned around and saw him. Would Kageyama think it was creepy? That he was silently running behind him? He should say something and avoid that. Hinata took a deep breath and ignored the pounding of his heart as he sped up.

“Oi, Kageyama!” he called, running up alongside him. He was met with a quick sideways look. 

“Hinata. What are you doing?”

“What does it look like? I’m running.” 

They were silent for a long moment, just running beside each other. Hinata wondered if he got closer if he would be able to feel the heat of Kageyama’s skin.

“Not a lot of people here run…” Kageyama finally said. Hinata almost rolled his eyes at the fact that he wasn’t even close to being out of breath. 

“Well I get stir crazy.” 

Kageyama snorted and Hinata nudged him with an elbow. His skin _was_ warm, and incredibly soft. 

“Shut up. I know I’m…”

“Insane?” Kageyama said, turning to look at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Hey, no need to be rude. After I so graciously decided to keep you company.”

Kageyama’s mouth twitched and Hinata waited to see if he would actually smile but his lips just flattened out into a straight line and he turned to look ahead again. 

“I didn’t ask for company.” He said quietly, but he didn’t say anything else. Hinata didn’t ask if he wanted to be left alone, just kept running. Every once in a while one of them would speed up, just a little and the other would do the same, falling into step again. They made a circle around the campus and when Kageyama ran past the front door and started to make another round Hinata followed without a word. 

Finally, Kageyama slowed and stopped, kicking his heel up and grabbing his ankle to stretch his leg. Hinata watched, bracing his hands on his knees as he caught his breath. He wasn’t as in shape as Kageyama but he had kept up and that was all that mattered.

“That was fun.” He said, smiling brightly. He was met with cool blue eyes but Kageyama’s cheeks were pink. Hinata’s heart was pounding and he wasn’t sure if it was just from the  
exercise. 

“Are we still meeting for practice today?” Kageyama asked. He sounded almost hesitant, like he wasn’t sure of the answer.

“Of course we are. But I definitely need to shower first.” Hinata said, lifting his sweaty t shirt away from his stomach to wipe his face. When he dropped it Kageyama was staring at him. 

“What?” 

“I’ll see you.” 

Hinata watched as Kageyama walked into the building, his shoulders held rigidly. 

~~

At 3 Hinata raced down the hall, late as usual, violin case in his hand. He ran through the door of the practice room but Kageyama wasn’t at the piano yet. He breathed a sigh of relief and set his case down on a desk. A moment later he heard footsteps in the hallway and Kageyama walked in. He had clearly just showered, the tips of his dark hair were still damp and curling slightly. Hinata blinked and looked away. 

“Hey…”

“Ready?” Kageyama said, voice steady. Hinata nodded, unlatching his case carefully. Kageyama walked around the piano and sat down.

“We should try writing today.” 

Hinata blinked and looked at Kageyama, his eyes wide. 

“Seriously!?”

Kageyama was pointedly not looking at him, just staring down at his piano keys. 

“I’ve decided your playing is…adequate. So we can start the assignment now.”

Hinata ignored the sad excuse of a compliment and bounded over to the piano. He hesitated for only a second before sliding onto the bench next to Kageyama. He could see Kageyama go completely rigid, clearly not used to having someone so close. Hinata shifted away just slightly and Kageyama’s shoulders relaxed. 

“Adequate huh?” Hinata asked, smiling softly and letting himself glance at the side of Kageyama’s’ face. His nose was a straight line and his lower lip jutted out slightly, almost in a pout. His eye turned up in the corner and his cheekbone was a smooth line under soft skin.

“Yes.”

“Can I ask you something?” Hinata didn’t want to push, could feel Kageyama tensing up even now. 

“What was wrong with the first song we played together?” Hinata asked, scooting in closer on the bench. Kageyama was holding himself impossibly still. Their arms were pressed together and Hinata tried to ignore the warmth spreading through him at the contact. 

“It was too good.” Kageyama mumbled. Hinata’s eyes widened and he turned to look directly at Kageyama.

“What!?”

“Nobody had ever been able to do what you did…seamlessly mold with what I was playing. It threw me off….” 

Hinata opened and closed his mouth, words completely evading him.

“You jerk! I thought I was terrible!”

Kageyama glanced over at him and for a moment there was a small smile on his lips. Hinata felt the breath catch in his throat.

“I didn’t want you getting a big head.” 

Hinata rolled his eyes and sat forward again, their knees bumping under the piano. Every point of contact between them was electric, like being touched by fire. Hinata could feel his heart pounding in his chest. 

“So, genius. What are we going to write?” 

“Don’t call me that.” 

Hinata just smiled and bumped their shoulders together. Kageyama was still not looking at him and after a moment he bent over to dig around in his bag. He sat up with a blank piece of sheet music and a pencil. Hinata watched as he placed the sheet on the stand in front of them. 

“So what kind of song do you want to write?” Hinata asked, turning to look at him. This close he could see the fine hair on Kageyama’s cheek bones and the slight shadow of stubble along his jaw. His face felt hot and he made himself look away. 

“I’m not sure…something that works for both of us.” 

“Well duh, that goes without saying.” Hinata said, rolling his eyes. He reached over and gently pressed a key on the piano, the note ringing out. It sounded different than when Kageyama was playing. 

“Have you ever played?” he heard and turned to find Kageyama staring down at his hand which was still perched on the keys.

“Uh no…it was always violin for me. I used to think that piano was kind of boring…”

“Used to?”

Hinata could feel his face heating and he refused to look up.

“Do I have to spell it out? You’ve heard yourself play…”

He could feel Kageyama’s eyes on him and he kept staring at his own hand on the piano. Kageyama stood suddenly and Hinata waited with bated breath as he walked around the bench to stand directly behind him.

“Well first of all, your posture is terrible…” he heard and then there was a cool hand pressing against the dip of his spine. He straightened it out, feeling goosebumps erupt on his skin. 

“Now put both hands on the keys.” 

Kageyama was leaning over him, his face right next to Hinata’s. He could feel his breath stirring the hair by his ear. He lifted his other hand and placed it next to the first, praying that they wouldn’t start shaking. Kageyama leaned even closer and then those cool fingers were on top of his. Kageyama’s hands were so much bigger, his fingers longer. Hinata tried to even out his breathing.

“You have to relax and let the music kind…. flow, I guess?” Kageyama was saying. And then his fingers were pressing down, pushing Hinata’s against the keys. The music was slower, more disjointed than when Kageyama played by himself but you could still feel his talent, how little effort it took for him to do this. 

He played something simple, something that Hinata could have probably pinpointed if he could get his brain to work. Instead he let himself get lost in the feel of Kageyama’s hands on top of his, the press of his chest against his back. Then Kageyama was clearing his throat and pulling away. Hinata turned to look at him and his face was pink, his eyes cast downwards.

“Sorry that was…weird. I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”

“No! It wasn’t…I liked it…” 

Kageyama was still refusing to look at him, just holding himself very still, his hands clenched at his sides. Those same hands had been holding Hinata’s just a moment ago. 

“So we should think about what we want to write and meet again tomorrow…” Kageyama said, his voice quiet. He finally looked up, his blue eyes a little wide and his jaw set. Hinata nodded, his breath catching. 

“Yeah…ok, let’s do that.” 

He wanted to stay there, have Kageyama help him play something else. But his blood was rushing in his veins and he felt almost light headed. All he could smell was laundry and wood chips. 

“I’ll see you.” Kageyama mumbled, picking up his bag from the floor and walking out. Hinata turned back to the piano and let his forehead fall against the keys. 

“Oh no…” he mumbled, his face on fire. He liked Kageyama.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm letting this story kind of come to me naturally which is why it's taking me forever so if you're still following it then thank you! You're angels!  
> Also thank you to anyone who left comments and kudos. You honestly make my soul weep with joy!


	6. Chapter 6

“Kenma, I have an emergency.” Hinata whispered into the phone, holding it close to his mouth. He glanced around the hallway and found it blessedly empty. He could hear Kenma shuffling around on the other end, like he was getting up and moving somewhere more private. 

“What’s wrong?” Kenma finally asked softly. Hinata took a deep breath and tried to think of what to say but all he could hear was the pounding of his own heart.

“I like…. someone.” he said in a rush. Kenma was silent for a moment.

“Ok. Do they like you?”

“No. I mean not even a little bit. I don’t even think they like me as a friend.” 

“So…are you going to tell them?” Kenma asked. Hinata felt his palms go sweaty. The image of him confessing to Kageyama only to be met with steely blue eyes and a bored expression made him feel like barfing.

“No. Absolutely not.”

“Shouyou…”

“Kenma there’s…something else.” 

There was a welcoming silence on the other end and Hinata took a deep, steadying breath. 

“It’s a boy. I like a boy.”

“Ok.” 

The simple answer washed over him and for a moment he was immensely grateful that the system had put them together. 

“Is that ok?”

“I think you’re asking the wrong person.”

Hinata smiled, despite the dread sitting in the pit of his stomach. He thought of Kenma and how despite being quiet and reserved he had ended up with Kuroo. And they were so unabashedly infatuated with each other. 

“I guess you’re right.”

“If it’s meant to be it will work out.” 

Hinata smiled again and said goodbye to Kenma, hanging up the phone and leaning against the wall, closing his eyes.

~~

They met up in the music room the next afternoon. As soon as Kageyama walked in Hinata felt his heart start to race. He wondered if it was healthy to be this wound up all of the time. Probably not. 

“Hello.” Kageyama said quietly as he put his things down next to he piano.

“Hey!” Hinata cringed at how loud his voice sounded. He needed to dial it back.

Kageyama glanced at him for a second but didn’t say anything, just sat down on the bench and traced his fingers over the keys of the piano. Hinata watched him and noticed the rigid way Kageyama was holding himself, the slight twitch in his hands. For a brief heart stopping moment Hinata wondered if maybe he knew. But no that couldn’t be it, there was no way he could’ve figured it out. He was nervous, Hinata realized. 

“What’s up?”

Kageyama’s eyes flicked up to look at him before darting away. A slight flush rose on his cheeks and Hinata felt a warmth spread through him. How cute.

“Nothing…I just…”

“What?”

“Let me finish.” Kageyama mumbled, glaring over at him. Hinata just smiled brightly and mimicked zipping his mouth closed. Kageyama rolled his eyes and looked away again.

“I…wrote something. For the assignment. It’s not fini…”

“Let me hear it!” 

“Do you always have to interrupt?”

Hinata bounced over to the piano, dragging a chair behind him so he could sit close. 

“Play it!” 

Kageyama looked at him for a long moment and then sighed, reaching over to get the sheet music from his bag.

“It’s different…from the other piece we played.”

“Yeah, yeah just shut up and play already!” 

“I’m getting there!” 

Kageyama’s face was flushed as he placed the sheets on the stand in front of him. Hinata could feel his heart hammering in his chest. He wondered how Kageyama couldn’t hear it in the silence of the room. It was so incredibly loud.

Hinata watched him take a deep breath, his eyes closing briefly, long black eyelashes sweeping the top of his cheeks. The air around them felt so incredibly charged. Hinata forced himself to be completely still as he waited and then Kageyama put his hands to the keys and started playing. 

The song was fluttery, complicated and smooth and everything that music should ever be. Hinata felt something stirring in his chest as he listened to Kageyama play. It spread through him like a hot summer day, burying under his skin and making him feel feather light. He had the sudden urge to grab Kageyama’s hands, weave their fingers together again, so he could feel what Kageyama felt when he played it. 

It ended abruptly and Hinata felt himself coming back slowly. To the room where Kageyama was staring at him, a frown on his face. 

“How was it?”

Hinata didn’t know what to say. Didn’t want to say that it felt like wanting to kiss the person you liked. Didn’t want to tell Kageyama that it reminded him of deep blue eyes and silky black hair. He didn’t want to say that it felt like falling in love.

“It was perfect.” He said instead, watching a blush creeping up Kageyama’s cheekbones and then a small smile quirk his lips up. The room suddenly felt too warm. All Hinata wanted to do was walk over and…do something. Anything. Anything that would relieve this dull ache of longing that he felt when he looked at Kageyama. 

“We should stop there for today….” Kageyama mumbled when the silence dragged on. Hinata cleared his throat, breaking their eye contact and nodded. They hadn’t actually done anything and a part of Hinata wanted to demand that they stay and practice more, write more. But the thought of staying in the room with Kageyama for another second was overwhelming. 

“Let’s meet tomorrow?” he said quietly, keeping his eyes trained on the floor. 

“Ok.” 

Then Kageyama was gone and Hinata could still feel the music buzzing under his skin. 

~~

Kenma got back that night, quietly shuffling into the room and sitting on Hinata’s bed next to him, resting a small hand on his shoulder for a second before pulling back. Hinata smiled softly at him, the gesture small but so significant coming from Kenma. 

“Thank you.” Hinata said quietly, because Kenma brought that out in him. A calm quiet that he didn’t know he was capable of. 

“Anytime.” Kenma said back, glancing over at him for a second. Then he was getting up and moving to his own bed, his hands reaching for his phone immediately. There was still an electric buzz under Hinata’s skin, and every time he thought about Kageyama a violent shiver shook his spine. 

“What am I going to do?” he whispered into the room, mostly to himself but slightly hoping that Kenma had some miraculous solution.

“What feels right.” 

Hinata sighed and flopped back against his pillows.

~~

The next day went by in a blur. Every class sounded like white noise to him and he felt like he was still asleep, tucked under the covers in his bed, his mind dreaming. But he wasn’t asleep and as the day went on Hinata felt himself get more and more anxious about seeing Kageyama. The new found awareness of the fact that he liked him prickled under his skin, like a rash or a bug bite. He felt jittery and on edge. 

Lunch was a strange half hour of him either staring off into space silently or laughing too loudly when Kuroo called him out on it. Kenma had looked up a few times, his eyebrows creased in the middle but Hinata had smiled, a little wavering and tried to eat his food. Everything tasted like sand and felt like a brick in his stomach.  
When the bell rang for Music Comp his legs turned to jelly, his heart hammering against his chest. He walked slowly toward the classroom, could see Kageyama sitting there in his mind. His body felt hot at the thought of him.

Was this normal? Hinata felt like he was going to barf any second. Movies always made liking someone seem so nice but all he wanted to do was crawl into a hole and have a panic attack.

The oak door of the classroom felt ten times heavier as he leaned against it to push it open. Kageyama was already there, in his usual seat, his back perfectly straight. He looked over when Hinata entered, his blue eyes flashing with recognition and then he leaned over to remove his books from the seat next to him. Hinata could feel warmth curling in his chest as he walked over, smiling brightly. Being there, so close to Kageyama and actually seeing him made all of the nerves disappear and he felt like he was floating. 

“Hello.” Kageyama said quietly, looking toward the board as Hinata dropped his bag on the floor and plopped down in the seat next to him.

“Hi! Thanks for saving my seat for me.” 

Kageyama’s’ ears were pink as he dropped his eyes, his hands twisting in his lap, like he didn’t know what to do with them when there wasn’t a piano around.

“Sure…”

“Are we meeting after class?” Hinata asked, sounding entirely too eager. Kageyama glanced at him then.

“Yeah…we didn’t really do much this weekend.”

“You wrote half of a song!” 

Kageyama huffed out a breath and looked at him with an unamused expression.

“We’re supposed to write something together.”

“So I’ll write the other half.” Hinata offered quickly. Kageyama sighed and turned fully toward him, his arm braced over the back of his chair. His fingers were inches against from Hinata’s shoulder.

“That’s not how it….”

“Hello everyone!” Ukai called out as he walked into the room. Kageyama frowned and turned back around, his arm falling away, fingers brushing Hinata’s sleeve lightly. 

~~

Hinata arrived in the music room first. He dropped his bag next to a random desk and placed his violin case on top of it. He opened it and looked at the instrument inside, running his fingers over the light wood. His mom had gotten it for him for his ninth birthday. Before then he was using a rented one that they had gotten from his music teacher. It had been scuffed and dingy and some of the notes never sounded right no matter how much he tuned it. 

The he had opened the box of his brand new violin that must have cost a fortune and burst into tears. At nine years old he knew he shouldn’t have been crying but he couldn’t help it. His parents had stared at him, alarmed, but he had just launched himself at them, clinging with all of his strength. It was the greatest gift anyone had ever given him. Later that morning after he had gently taken it out of the shiny new case and played for hours; until his fingertips were blistered and bleeding and his shoulder was sore. 

Now he took it out again, just as gently, and placed it on his shoulder. It was familiar, the weight of it felt like home to him. He placed his bow against the strings and closed his eyes. He never knew what he was going to play, it always came to him at the last second. Now all he could think about was the song Kageyama had played him the day before. He thought of the fluttering notes, the high transitions into deep melodies. He took a deep breath and started playing. 

It came out soft, unsure. He had no sheet music, no plan. Just the weight of his instrument and the imagine of Kageyama behind his eyelids. He kept playing, letting all of the feelings humming under his skin transform into music, the song filling the room. 

“You’re good.” 

Hinata’s eyes opened and his bow slipped on the strings, screeching for a moment. He turned to find Kageyama standing behind him, arms crossed against his chest, eyebrows furrowed.

“Wow…quite the compliment coming from you. I’m not sure what to say.” He said after recovering, smiling brightly. Kageyama was still staring at him.

“What song was that? I’m not sure I’ve heard it.” 

“It’s uh…well I was just thinking about what you played me yesterday….and I kind of…went from there?”

Kageyama’s eyes widened slightly and his arms fell to his sides.

“You just…played it? Without writing it down?”

Hinata felt his cheeks heat and he shrugged.

“Dumbass, we’re supposed to actually turn this in you know.” Kageyama finally said after he seemed to collect himself. The insult made Hinata glare for a second but the tone of voice made his heart kick up. It was soft, almost gentle. 

“I’ll remember it.”

“You won’t.”

“You don’t know that.” 

Kageyama sighed and turned to the piano, sitting down on the bench. 

“Ok then…play it again.” 

They looked at each other for a long, tense moment, Kageyama daring him to prove him wrong. Hinata opened his mouth to respond and then the lights flicked twice before completely going out, the room going black.

“Great…” Kageyama grumbled. 

“Should we go?” he asked slowly.

“No, we barely got anything done the past two days. Let’s wait.” 

Hinata could see Kageyama standing from the piano, walking towards him. His pulse sped up. The room was almost completely dark except for the moon light coming through the window. Kageyama stopped and dropped down onto the floor, his legs crossing. Hinata regarded him for a long moment before standing from his chair and sitting down on the floor across from him.

“So…” he started awkwardly. 

“Why did you start playing?” Kageyama asked, his voice quiet. Hinata felt himself freeze, the question sinking in.

“Uh…I heard someone playing and I…thought it was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard. I couldn’t stop thinking about it…”

He could barely make out Kageyama’s outline, couldn’t see his expression. The silence between stretched and Hinata’s hands twitched in his lap. Kageyama turned his head away and Hinata could see his profile outlined by the moon. _He’s beautiful,_ Hinata thought before his face flushed and he ducked his head. 

“You…” Kageyama’s’ voice was still quiet, the rumble of it filling up the space between them. Hinata stayed perfectly still and waited.

“You’re the only person…who can play with me. I’ve never-“Kageyama cut himself off with a frustrated huff and looked down at his lap. Hinata’s hands were vibrating.

“I’m not good at...this stuff.”

“This stuff?” Hinata asked, his voice cracking.

“Making friends.”

“Are we friends?” Hinata asked quickly. He couldn’t see Kageyama but he knew he must be blushing.

“I guess…I don’t have any others to compare it to..”

Hinata felt something unfurling inside of him, like a flower blooming. His skin was buzzing, his chest warm. He rose up onto his knees, moving closer to Kageyama, wanting to see him. He saw the slight shift of Kageyama’s shoulders in the darkness as he realized how close they were now.  
Hinata’s face was burning. 

“Hinata what are you doing?” Kageyama asked, voice quiet in the darkness. Hinata didn’t dare say anything, his voice would probably fail him anyway. Instead he reached one shaking hand out until it bumped against Kageyama’s bent knee. He used it as leverage as he leaned forward, his other hand reaching up to find the softness of Kageyama’s cheek. 

Kageyama was rigid under his hands, his breathing labored. Hinata leaned closer, smelling the same wood chip and grass scent that kept him up at night, warmth spreading through him. 

“Anyone in here?” 

Kageyama jerked back so hard at the voice that Hinata almost fell forward on his face. He barely managed to catch himself and they both turned towards the doorway. A janitor stood there, flashlight in hand. 

“Come on kids. Power isn’t coming back on for a little while.”

Kageyama scrambled off of the floor and grabbed his bag, leaving without a word. Hinata could feel cold dread settling over him. What the hell had he done?

~~

“I tried to kiss him.”

Kuroo spluttered, having choked on his soda. Kenma reached up to slap his back softly. 

“You what?!” 

Hinata knew he was bright red but he was determined.

“I tried to kiss him. The lights went out and he…told me some stuff. I don’t what came over me!” 

Kuroo looked like he had received the greatest news of his life. He looked over at Kenma, grin wide and bright and Kenma just rolled his eyes. 

“Hinata tried to kiss Kageyama! Kenma can you believe it!?”

“I can.” 

Both Hinata and Kuroo looked at him, eyebrows raised in surprise.

“You can?” HInata asked slowly. 

“I mean he’s the boy you like right?” 

Hinata’s whole world was collapsing. He felt like the ground was going to crumble and he would fall straight into his grave.

“You knew?” he asked, his voice cracking. 

Kenma’s gold eyes flicked up to meet his and he shrugged.

“It was pretty obvious. Your face lit up every time you talked about him. Even when you were complaining. It was pretty embarrassing.”

Hinata was speechless. Kuroo, it seemed, was too.

“You knew this and you didn’t tell me?” he screeched, turning to glare at Kenma. 

“It wasn’t my business.” Kenma answered quietly, with a slight shrug of his shoulders and went back to typing on his phone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I haven't updated this thing in like two months so hopefully you guys are still interested! I feel terrible! Real life just takes up way too much time.


	7. Chapter 7

Hinata woke with a start, like he had been having a bad dream. But when he tried to piece together what he was dreaming about he realized that it hadn’t been bad. It was about Kageyama. He could still feel the phantom trace of soft skin and silky hair. He took a deep breath, hoping that Kenma wouldn’t be able to look at him and tell what it was he had been dreaming about and wiped his sweaty palms on his sleep shorts. 

“Good morning Shouyou.” Kenma said as he looked over and realized that Hinata was awake.

“Good morning…”

Kenma looked at him for another long second, taking him in and then went back to typing on his laptop. Hinata wondered when Kenma actually had time to sleep. He was awake when Hinata went to bed and he was always up before him in the morning.

“Kenma…”

“Hm?”

“Do you sleep?”

Kenma blinked and looked away from the screen, the light casting a ghostly glow on his pale skin.

“Not really…”

“That can’t be healthy.”

“I can’t really sleep without…well…”

“Without?”

Kenma looked down at his bed spread, his fingers sliding over the neat folds. 

“I sleep better when Kuroo is around…” was the soft response and Hinata felt a powerful pang of longing in his gut. He thought of him and Kageyama, curled up in his tiny bed, pressed together tightly. 

“I see…”

At the thought of Kageyama he felt dread start to settle over him. How was he supposed to face him? What was he going to say? Hinata groaned and buried his face in his hands. He could hear Kenma shuffling around on top of his covers.

“Kenma…”

“Yes Shouyou?”

“What did you do when Kuroo kissed you the first time?”

Kenma didn’t answer and Hinata peeked through his fingers. Kenma’s cheeks were pink and he was very pointedly looking at his phone.

“What?”

“I kissed him first.”

Hinata sat up, looking at Kenma with wide eyes.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

Hinata couldn’t imagine it. Kenma, who always kept his head down and stayed quiet more often than not getting the nerve up to kiss Kuroo. Who happened to be one of the most intimidating people Hinata had ever met.

“How did you do it?”

Kenma looked at him for a split second, his face getting redder. He shrugged one shoulder quickly, eyes glued to his phone.

“Eventually it was harder not to.”

~~

The entire day passed by in a blur. All of his teachers gave them a ton of work and assignments since they had collectively decided that the students should be settled in at this point. Hinata groaned as another test was announced and scribbled the date down in the margin of his full page of notes. 

He hated school work. Hated tests and homework even more. Even when said homework involved music. He loved music. Playing it especially. But studying about the history of music was the most boring thing in the world. He couldn’t care less about who whittled the first violin a million years ago. All he cared about was the fact that it had been done and he was able to hold one in his hands in this century.

Lunch was quiet since Kuroo had band practice (which he had invited Hinata to but the thought of Kuroo’s band mates send him into a panic). Kenma typed away on his phone, giving him silent glances every once in a while. Hinata nervously picked at his food, picking up one kernel of rice at a time. When the bell finally ran Hinata nearly fell out of his seat. 

“Shouyou.”

“Yes?” he squeaked out, trying to pull himself together. 

“Relax. It won’t be as bad as you think.”

Hinata took a deep breath and nodded, picking up his bag with a slightly shaky hand. 

~~

Hinata wondered what the consequences were for skipping class were as he stood in front of the giant oak door that lead into the Music Composition classroom. He wiped his sweaty palms on his uniform pants for the tenth time and tried to even out his breathing. His heart was thumping against his chest so hard that the was positive the people on the other side of the door could hear it. 

“What are you doing?” 

Hinata felt cold dread race down his spine as he slowly turned towards the voice. That all too familiar voice.

Kageyama was standing next to him with his head slightly tilted, studying him with a bored expression.

“I uh…was…”

“If you don’t go inside someone will take our seats dumbass.”

Kageyama waited another second and when Hinata didn’t move he just sighed and rolled his eyes before pushing Hinata out of the way and pulling the door open. At the last moment he stopped and turned back to look at him.

“Well? Are you coming?”

Hinata didn’t think that words would be possible so he just chose to nod. 

~~

When the final bell rang Hinata took his time putting his books away, glancing over at Kageyama as he did the same. They hadn’t talked the entire period but there wasn’t really a chance to. Now they packed up in silence and Hinata was itching to ask him if they were ok. Or if they were still meeting later. 

“I’ll see you after dinner?” Kageyama asked before Hinata managed to gather the courage to open his mouth. 

“Oh…yes! Definitely.” 

Kageyama looked at him for a long moment before he stood up and walked out without another word.

~~

Hinata spent all of dinner jiggling his leg so much that even Kenma had shot him an annoyed glare. He had smiled apologetically and finally decided to leave early and head to the  
music room. He would be early but putting it off made him feel hot and jittery.

He got to the room in record time and turned on the light. It was the same as it had been when they left it last. He looked at the spot on the floor where they had sat. He could still picture the moment when he reached out and... He groaned and covered his burning face with his hands. How could he have tried to kiss Kageyama?! That was the dumbest thing he had ever done in his entire life and he had done a lot of very dumb things.

“You’re early.” 

Hinata jumped and spun around to see Kageyama walking into the room. He had changed out of his school uniform and was wearing a light blue t-shirt that made his eyes seem brighter and his skin even more tan. Hinata tore his eyes away and walked over to a desk to put his violin down.

“Uh yeah…wasn’t really hungry so I thought I might as well…”

“You’re acting weird.” 

Hinata’s hands froze and he took a breath before turning to look at Kageyama against. He was standing by the piano, arms crossed over his chest, one eyebrow raised. 

“Am I? Isn’t that normal for me?” Hinata asked, laughing nervously. Kageyama didn’t look remotely convinced. 

“Just tell me what it is so we can finally get some work done.”

Hinata felt his throat closing up and he struggled to swallow. The desire for the words to just burst out was so strong that he had to dig his nails into his palms to stop himself. 

“Hinata just….”

“I’m sorry I tried to kiss you!” 

They both froze, Kageyama’s eyes widening comically. Hinata felt his face start to burn and he knew he was probably bright red but he stood there and waited. 

“You…you were really trying to kiss me?” Kageyama asked, his eyes still wide. Hinata nodded slowly, not trusting his own voice.

“Why?”

Hinata felt his eyebrows pulling together. Why would Kageyama even need to ask? He was talented and yeah maybe a little harsh but it was all warranted. And he was…beautiful. Even now with his mouth slightly open and his eyes blinking owlishly. 

“You’re…. you know.” Hinata said lamely, gesturing to him. Kageyama’s cheeks were pink as he frowned and looked away. The room was completely silent for a long moment and Hinata could hear his heartbeat in his ears, loud and fast. Then Kageyama looked back up at him and he couldn’t breathe. 

“I…” Kageyama started then stopped, his mouth pressing into a thin line. Then he took a step forward, before he slowly made his way across the room until he was in front of Hinata. 

Kageyama was taller than him, which he knew, but it was easier to ignore when he was sitting at the piano. But now, with his toes touching Hinata’s and his breath warm against Hinata’s lips it felt like he was towering over him. Hinata’s heart was beating so hard that he felt like he would pass out. 

Kageyama’s steel blue eyes were sweeping over his face, taking in his features. Hinata felt his hand twitch and he fought the desire to lift it, to curl it in the front of Kageyama’s shirt and _pull_.

“Hinata…” Kageyama’s voice rushed out in a quiet exhale. Hinata felt a shiver race up his spine.

“Hm?” 

He didn’t trust his voice, not when his entire body was shaking with the proximity. He could smell Kageyama, so close and so warm.

“I…” Kageyama started, his cheekbones slightly pink. Then a shaky hand was reaching up and brushing against Hinata’s cheek. All of the air left his lungs in a rush, those cool fingers sweeping against his skin. Everywhere they touched felt like it was burning. 

“Kageyama…” he managed to breathe out seconds before Kageyama tipped forward, closing those last few inches between them, and kissed him.

The room was spinning; it had to be. Hinata’s hands gripped Kageyama’s shoulders to keep himself steady, to keep himself from falling. The lips pressing against his were so incredibly soft and when Kageyama opened his mouth slightly and pushed his tongue against Hinata’s bottom lip all he could taste was peppermint. 

Kageyama’s hand moved from his cheek to the back of his neck, his thumb tilting his face up, the kiss deepening. Those cool fingers were threading through his hair, pulling just slightly. Hinata felt a moan in his throat. As the sound rose from him Kageyama went still and pulled away, their lips sliding wetly, his hand relaxing it’s hold.

“I’m sorry….” Kageyama said quietly, his voice even deeper, his mouth redder. Hinata’s eyes were cloudy, like everything was covered in a layer of rose colored fog. 

“For what?” he asked, thankful that his voice didn’t waver.

“I…did I hurt you?” 

Hinata blinked a few times, tried to make the words register. 

“What? No! It was just…” 

How could he explain that Kageyama pulling his hair had sent fire racing through his veins? That it made him want to get even closer, kiss even harder? It made him want to trace all of the lines of velvet soft skin and hard muscle under Kageyama’s uniform. He could feel himself blushing.

“It was a good sound.” He finally mumbled, tucking his face against Kageyama’s chest. Kageyama’s hands landed on his waist and squeezed.

“Oh…then…should I do it again?”

Hinata’s heart was pounding so hard he was embarrassed. He was sure Kageyama could feel his pulse under the skin of his hips where his fingers were gripping tightly. But at that moment it didn’t matter. Because Kageyama had _kissed_ him. And he wanted to do it again.

“Please…” Hinata muttered, tilting his head back and sighing as Kageyama pressed their lips together. 

~~

They were sitting on the floor, next to the piano, backs pressed against the wall and their shoulders touching. Hinata could still feel every single place where Kageyama had touched him, like his fingertips had burned into his skin. The air between them felt heavy, like you could reach out and touch it. Kageyama was staring straight ahead, silent. He hadn’t said a word as he finally detached himself from Hinata, his hands falling away from where they were gripping his waist and his lips clinging for just a second as he pulled back from their kiss. 

They had looked at each other for a moment, eyes blown wide and lips swollen and Kageyama had taken a deep breath and walked over to sit down. Hinata had hesitated for only a second before sitting down next to him, close enough that they were touching. 

Now he waited patiently, trying not to rush Kageyama, let him process everything in his own time.

“So….” Hinata said after the silence started to feel suffocating. He cursed himself silently for being the first one to speak but waited, holding his breath and staring straight ahead so he didn’t have to look at Kageyama’s stony profile.

“We kissed.” Kageyama said, voice not giving anything away. 

“Yes.”

“A lot.”

Hinata felt his face flushing. 

“We did.”

Kageyama took a deep breath and then his hand was slowly reaching out and taking Hinata’s, fingers weaving together. There was a pause in Hinata’s brain as he looked down at their hands and then his face split into a smile so wide it hurt. He finally looked over at Kageyama, with his flushed cheeks and blue eyes that were fixed on him.

“So are we dating now?”

“Jesus Hinata…do you have to be so straight forward about it?”

“Me?!”

Kageyama huffed but when he turned to look at Hinata he was smiling. Hinata’s heart skipped and he lowered his gaze, knew that he was blushing. 

“I suppose we are.” Kageyama said quietly, and when Hinata raised his wide eyes to look at him he kissed him again. It was soft and unhurried, just a press of lips. 

“We didn’t get any work done.” Kageyama said quietly as they pulled away. Hinata giggled at that and rolled his eyes. 

“There’s always tomorrow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so awful at putting out updates on this thing holy moly! I hope at least a couple of people are still interested in reading this! 
> 
> Anyone who has left me comments and kudos you are guys are absolutely incredible and I cry when I read them! I have two resolutions: finish this story in the next couple of weeks and reply to every single comment I get. Thank you again!


	8. Chapter 8

It took exactly ten seconds for Kuroo to realize something was up the next day at lunch. He raised one eyebrow and looked at Hinata for a long moment before that cat like smirk was spreading across his face.

“You got laid.”  
Hinata flushed and felt his eyes widen.

“No! That’s not…I didn’t!”

Kuroo just laughed, bright and happy and Hinata could feel his face burning and he knew that he was bright red. Right at that moment it didn’t matter because inside of his chest something warm was unraveling. He remembered how it felt to lean up into Kageyama’s touch, to meet his lips for kiss after kiss. How it felt to run his fingers through silky black hair and brush his nose against a soft cheek, tinted pink.

“Hey…Hinata, you still with us?”

Hinata stiffened in his seat and looked back at Kuroo who was grinning at him, cat-like and knowing and Kenma who was smiling softly.

“Sorry…I was…just remembering something.”

“I’m sure you were.” Kuroo said, wiggling his eyebrows and leaning back in his seat. 

“Oh shut it. After I kissed you, you were a nervous wreck for a week afterwards.” Kenma muttered, lowering his eyes back to his phone and typing away. 

“Hey! I was not!” 

Kenma just rolled his eyes and sent Hinata another smile.

~~

Hinata walked to class on shaky legs, his hand sweaty on the handle of his violin case. He hadn’t seen Kageyama since yesterday, hadn’t even talked to him. Last night he had realized that he didn’t even have Kageyama’s number. The oak door to Music Comp was the same as always but Hinata stood and stared for a long moment before pulling it open. And there was Kageyama, in the same seat he sat in every day, his books piled on the chair next to him. But instead of sitting rigidly and staring straight ahead he was hunched over slightly, his hands tucked under his legs. Hinata walked over slowly and Kageyama glanced over to him, his eyelashes fluttering as he blinked.

“Hi…” Hinata said softly, waiting for Kageyama to gather his things from his seat. Instead Kageyama just stared up at him, blue eyes wide and cheeks pink.

“Kageyama…are you ok?”

Kageyama cleared his throat and turned away, flushing. He grabbed his books and dropped them on the floor next to his chair. He was usually so careful with his belongings. Everything he owned looked brand new. 

“Sorry…I’m just…” Kageyama started, not looking at Hinata. 

“Is this about yesterday?” Hinata sked, his cheeks warming at the thought. Kageyama froze, his hands still tucked under his thighs. 

“It’s just…very hard not to kiss you right now.” Kageyama whispered, leaning toward Hinata just enough that nobody else would hear him. Hinata’s heart skipped and then went into double time, hammering against his chest.

“Stupid…. you can’t say things like that.” Hinata said, burying his burning face into his hands.

“Sorry…I didn’t mean to…offend you.” 

“You didn’t! It’s just going to be impossible to focus now.”

Hinata dropped his hands and Kageyama frowned at him, his bottom lip pouting slightly. Hinata remembered what it felt like to kiss it, the plush feeling of it against his mouth.

“Why?”

“Because now all I can think about is you kissing me.” Hinata mumbled, leaning into Kageyama slightly. Kageyama’s shoulders were rigid, his eyebrows pulled together. 

“Hinata…”

Just then Ukai strode into the room, waving at them to settle down. Hinata and Kageyama sat up quickly, realizing just how close they had been to each other. Hinata could feel his cheeks still burning and when he looked at Kageyama he could see him blushing.

~~

The music room seemed different that day. Hinata looked at the place where Kageyama had kissed him for the first time, the place where they sat afterwards and where they decided to date. He smiled softly, putting his violin case down on a desk. The leather of the case was so familiar under his hands. He wondered if Kageyama’s skin would every become that familiar. Or if he would always marvel at how soft it was, how warm under his touch. He shook his head and slapped his hands against his cheeks. 

“Get it together.” Hinata muttered to himself, pulling out his violin and tightening the strings. 

“Hey…”

He turned quickly and saw Kageyama standing in the doorway. He seemed awkward, like he wasn’t sure what to do.

“Hi…”

“I’m not going to kiss you.”

Hinata flushed and dropped his gaze. 

“If you don’t want to then you don’t have to…”

“It’s not that.” 

Hinata felt his eyebrows draw together and he looked up again.

“If I do it once I won’t be able to stop…and our assignment…”

Hinata felt himself blushing deeper, his heart stuttering in his chest.

“You’re so embarrassing.” He mumbled, his hand tightening on the neck of his instrument. 

“I’m just saying! Just because I can’t stop thinking about you doesn’t meant we should fail.” 

Hinata stared at him, his mouth gaping slightly. He couldn’t picture Kageyama pining after him; not the way he was after Kageyama. The other boy was beautiful and talented. He had opened Hinata’s eyes to a whole new world of music. He wondered what it was that Kageyama saw in him but even the thought of asking was too embarrassing to think about.

“Should we…get to work then?” Hinata asked quietly, rubbing the back of his neck. Kageyama nodded, his eyes trained to the ground. He walked over to the piano and for once his movements were jerky, unsure. Hinata smiled as he watched him. This side of Kageyama was even better than the one he saw at the orientation. The graceful, fluid way he moved had been so unattainable, so out of reach for someone like Hinata. But here Kageyama was, nervous and unsure just like him.

“Play that song you played me…the one you wrote.” Hinata said, walking over to stand next to the piano. Kageyama glanced up at him and leaned down to take the sheet music out of his bag. There were even more notes this time, squeezed into the lines. There were smudges from erasers and sloppily written reminders in the margins. Hinata smiled and waited. 

Kageyama’s fingers hovered over the keys for a second and Hinata held his breath. He would never be used to hearing this, not if he lived forever. Kageyama started to play and his hands moved over the piano with a fluidity that made Hinata light headed. The notes soared through the room, like a fog consuming his every sense. It was soft and fluttery and it was building inside of him, the anticipation rising in his chest. It really did feel like falling in love. He looked at Kageyama again, the sweep of dark eyelashes and his elegant fingers flying over keys and closed his eyes.

His violin was a steadying weight against his shoulder, so familiar that it was almost like an extension of him. He took a deep slow breath, the music seeping into his very core and raised his bow to the strings. 

Hinata’s notes were higher, more hurried, not as fluid. But somehow they fell in between Kageyama’s perfectly, lining up and lifting them. Kageyama played beautifully, but together their music wove into something surreal. It flowed through Hinata, like drinking hot chocolate on a cold morning. It sunk into his bones and made his breath catch. The song soared and then fell away, like every emotion he had felt since meeting Kageyama. Soft notes gave way to frantic tones, like the fluttering of his heart. 

The piano faded out and Hinata let his bow drop. He blinked his eyes opened and Kageyama was looking at him, eyes shining.

“You really are incredible.” 

Hinata blinked, emotion welling up inside of him. He wondered for a moment if maybe he had been the one who had said it but Kageyama was smiling at him softly, head tilted slightly as he watched Hinata’s reaction.

“Shut up.” He mumbled, his voice coming out soft and breathy. He felt his face flushing and he ducked his head, avoiding looking at Kageyama. He heard the scrape of the bench against the floor and Kageyama was tilting his chin up and kissing him. Every single note that they had played together was still ringing inside of him and Kageyama’s mouth was warm against his. If there was ever a perfect moment in Hinata’s life, it was this. 

~~

“I can’t believe we didn’t write any of that down.” Kageyama mumbled as they closed the door to the music room. Hinata smiled up at him, his violin case bumping against his leg as they walked. 

“I have a crazy idea.” 

Kageyama looked over at him, face blank.

“What if we just…wing it?”

“Huh?” 

Hinata shrugged, smile still on his face. Kageyama was looking at him like his was crazy but as they walked his hand would brush Hinata’s every so often, the skin of his knuckles soft and warm.

“I’m just saying. Why don’t we just…do what we did back there. And record it. Turn it into Ukai like that.” 

Kageyama’s eyes widened and he stopped walking, his shoes squeaking against the linoleum. 

“Are you insane?”

“Maybe. It works for us though!” 

Kageyama stared at him for a long moment and then let out a long sigh.

“I guess I’m crazy too…”

Hinata smiled brightly, stepping close and kissing the side of Kageyama’s mouth softly. 

“About me.”

“You’re awful.” Kageyama grumbled but he was smiling.

“And yet you still like me. So what does that say about you?” 

Kageyama rolled his eyes and started walking, Hinata falling into step beside him. 

“Hey Kageyama…”

“Hm?”

“Give me your phone number.” 

Kageyama blinked and looked at him.

“Oh right…ok.” 

He took Hinata’s phone, typing in the numbers quickly. Hinata watched his fingers and felt another flush rising on his face. He knew how it felt to have to fingers pressing into his skin.

“Thanks.” He said brightly, trying to ignore the fact that he was blushing. Kageyama handed his phone back, his hand brushing Hinata’s. 

“No problem.”

~~

The next day Hinata woke up to a text from Kageyama telling him to meet him by the Music Comp room. As Hinata rounded the corner he almost ran head first into Kageyama. He was leaning against the wall next to the classroom, his hands in his pockets and his feet out in front of him. His hair was damp just at the tips, as if he had just gotten out of the shower. Hinata swallowed thickly and stepped away.

“Good morning.”

“Morning.” Kageyama said quietly and his voice was just barely sleep rough, rumbling from his chest. Hinata felt a shiver race down his spine and he dropped his eyes. It was too early for him to be able to handle this. 

“So why did you want to meet here?” he asked, nodding toward the classroom.

“If we’re not going to hand in actual sheet music I want to make sure it won’t get us kicked out of the program. So we’re going to ask Ukai.”

Hinata realized that he hadn’t even thought of asking the teacher. 

“That’s…. a good idea.”

“I seldom have bad ones.” 

Hinata snorted and rolled his eyes pushing Kageyama toward the door. Ukai was sitting behind his desk, which he very rarely did when he was actually teaching. He was usually pacing around the room, gesturing wildly with his hands. 

“Ah, good morning.” He said when he looked up at the sound of the door opening.

Kageyama dipped into a short bow, his hair falling forward into his eyes. Hinata looked away quickly and bowed as well. 

“We wanted to…. ask you something.”

~~

“I can’t believe he actually agreed.” Hinata said brightly, looking over at Kageyama. His face was relaxed, blue eyes bright and lips curled just slightly into a soft smile. 

“Lucky for us. Seeing as we can’t seem to get any actual work done.”

“You’re very distracting.” Hinata said, looking away immediately. Whenever he was around Kageyama his mouth tended to blurt out whatever his brain was thinking, regardless of consequences. 

“So are you.” Kageyama said quietly after a long moment. 

“Well yes. I’m quite loud.”

Kageyama rolled his eyes, bumping his shoulder gently against Hinata’s.

“I don’t mean…I just meant that you’re very…” his face was slowly turning pink and Hinata stopped walking, pulling on the sleeve of Kageyama’s uniform shirt.

“I’m what?” he asked, biting his lip to keep from smiling. 

“Attractive…” Kageyama finally answered, avoiding his eyes. Hinata felt his eyes widen and he blinked once, twice and then burst out laughing. 

“Oi.” Kageyama said, his eyebrows coming together in a frown.

“You’re insane.” 

“Because I think my boyfriend is attractive?”

Hinata’s laughter died in his throat and something warm spread through his chest. Kageyama looked at him for a moment expectedly and then his frown deepened. 

“What? You’re making me feel like an idiot…”

“Boyfriend….” Hinata said quietly, the warmth spreading down to his toes, to his fingertips. 

“Yeah dumbass…I thought we agreed…”

Hinata surged forward, his hands twisting into the front of Kageyama’s shirt and he pulled him forward. Their lips came together, sloppy and off center. Hinata could feel Kageyama’s surprise in the way his body went rigid. Then those graceful hands were cupping his face, tilting it just right and they were really kissing. It was a slow drag of lips, the soft touch of Kageyama’s tongue, and hands pulling gently at Hinata’s hair. It was too early for students to be in the hall but it still seemed taboo, like at any moment someone could walk by and see them. Hinata felt a prickle in his spine, excitement and nervousness building inside him. 

Kageyama slowly pulled back, blinking down at Hinata, his lips shiny.

“We shouldn’t…. here….”

Hinata sighed, leaned back in quickly and kissed Kageyama again, just once. Kageyama let him, fingers tightening in Hinata’s hair, like he couldn’t help himself.

“Hold that thought…” Kageyama muttered against Hinata’s mouth and that sent another pang of excitement through his chest. Because there was a later for them. Sometime in the near future Kageyama would let him kiss him again. 

“Ok…yeah we should….”

“I’ll see you in class.” Kageyama said quietly, hands falling away from Hinata, his lips reddened and pulled into a lazy smile. Hinata smiled back and bumped their foreheads together gently, ignoring the fact that he had to stand on his tiptoes to do it. 

He watched Kageyama make his way down the hall and at the last moment he stopped and turned to smile at Hinata. His heart clenched and all he could hear was their song.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is the weirdest thing. Sometimes I can't seem to write a single word and other times it all pours out of me.  
> I know I said I was going to try to be better about answering comments BUT IM THE WORST AT IT!  
> I open the emails and smile and shed a little tear and re-read them randomly but for some reason always forget to answer. I'm so sorry!!! Every single comment is so appreciated though.


	9. Chapter 9

Kageyama made Hinata stand in the corner, tuning his violin to keep his hands busy, while he set up the recording equipment. 

“Maybe we should just do a video camera…” Hinata mumbled, plucking a string to listen to how taut it was. 

“No, the sound quality would be terrible.” Kageyama mumbled as he extended the microphone stand that Hinata would be standing in front of. There were two microphones, one by the piano and one next to Hinata’s music stand. 

“How did you learn how to do this?” Hinata asked, his perfectly tuned violin resting against his leg.

“My brother used to record me so he could point out my mistakes.” 

Hinata froze, his hand going slack around his instrument. Kageyama had a brother. Suddenly the fact that Hinata didn’t actually know anything about Kageyama hit him. Apart from the fact that he was extraordinarily talented and an amazing kisser. Hinata felt himself flushing and he ducked his head. Kageyama was still messing with the equipment.

“You have a brother?” Hinata muttered, eyes still trained on the floor. 

“Oh…yeah. He’s three years older. He plays too…much better than me though.”

“Impossible.” Hinata said automatically, his voice strained.

Kageyama’s hands froze where they were adjusting the mic and he glanced up.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, taking a step toward Hinata. 

“It’s nothing…I just…. I don’t know anything about you.” 

Hinata glanced up. Kageyama was staring at him, blue eyes serious. 

“Yes you do.”

Hinata frowned. Kageyama was always really good at irritating him.

“How can you say that? I didn’t even know you had a brother!” 

“So? That stuff isn’t important…”

Hinata huffed, putting his violin down on a desk behind him and striding toward Kageyama until they were inches apart.

“Of course it’s important! I don’t know your favorite color, or your favorite food. These are things you’re supposed to know about the person you’re dating.”

“Hinata…” Kageyama started then stopped, his face turning away. His jaw clenched and he stayed silent for a long moment. Then he turned to Hinata, face determined. 

“I have on older brother. He’s my only sibling. My parents are still together and they’re both lawyers. My favorite color is blue and my favorite food is curry. I hate bees, I’m not allergic they just really scare me. I don’t like reading because I think it’s boring but I love movies. I hate math and I’m terrible at it but I like history, especially history of music. And I…like you, Shouyou.”

Hinata’s heart stuttered and he took a step back, his eyes going wide. 

“We have time to learn all of this stuff…” Kageyama continued, undeterred by Hinata’s reaction.

“All you need to know right now is that you’re the only person who I’ve ever been able to play with. That’s the most important thing.” 

Hinata dropped his eyes again, not able to look at Kageyama any longer. His heart was going crazy in his chest. He knew he should say something but his mouth was dry, his tongue heavy. He felt Kageyama stepping closer and he was frozen. A cool hand landed on the back of his neck and he made himself raise his eyes. 

“Kageyama….”

“Sorry for being embarrassing.” Kageyama whispered, leaning forward to kiss Hinata on the forehead gently. If his heart had been going crazy before then it was close to  
exploding now. Hinata took a deep breath, his brain whirring with information. 

“I like you too.” He finally said, quietly. It came out raspy, his throat closing around the words. Kageyama’s’ fingers squeezed the back of his neck. 

“Let’s get this done.” Kageyama said quietly, his hand falling away. Hinata nodded, not trusting his voice just yet. He turned to pick up his violin and walked over to his music stand. The beginning of the song Kageyama had written was sitting there for him but he didn’t think he would need it. Kageyama moved to stand behind the piano, reaching over to turn on the recording equipment before he sat down. They glanced at each other and Kageyama smiled. Hinata’s heart skipped and he shakily raised his violin to set it against his shoulder. 

“Ready?” Kageyama asked softly. Hinata took a deep breath and nodded, his eyes falling shut.

~~

The last notes of the song faded out in the quiet room and Hinata slowly blinked his eyes open, turning to look at Kageyama. His face was slightly flushed, his eyes wide. Hinata could still feel it, the absolute power of what they just played. It was buzzing under his skin, rattling his bones and hitting him in waves. 

“Holy…” he breathed out, his violin dropping from his shoulder. Kageyama was up in a heartbeat, striding over and wrapping his arms around Hinata, pulling him close. He could feel Kageyama’s heart pounding against his chest and he felt something prickling in the corners of his eyes. Every time he played he had pictured finding this. This moment of absolute clarity where everything made sense. Hinata’s free hand came up and twisted in the strands of Kageyama’s hair, gently turning his face against his until he could kiss the corner of his mouth. Kageyama shifted, his arms loosening where they held him and kissed him square on the mouth. Hinata felt like he was flying. When they played it had felt like an out of body experience. 

Kageyama’s hands traced the lines of his back, moving over his should blades before sliding down to his waist. Hinata shivered and his fingers went slack, almost dropping his violin. He jerked away. Kageyama blinked at him with half lidded eyes, his lips parted and shiny. 

“My…my violin.” Hinata breathed out. Kageyama blinked again then reached out and took it from Hinata, turning and placing it carefully on a desk behind him. When he turned back Hinata wanted to hide his face. He knew that Kageyama could see everything he was feeling in that moment and it made his cheeks burn. But when he made eye contact with Kageyama he realized he wasn’t the only one. Wide blue eyes were studying him like he was something…amazing. 

“Kageya…” Hinata didn’t finish because Kageyama was kissing him again, hands framing his face and tilting it up. Hinata felt his breath rush out of him, his hands clutching at the front of Kageyama’s shirt, pulling him closer. Nothing had ever felt as good as this. Having the one person who made him better, who pushed him to do things that he never would have thought to holding him close. Kageyama’s mouth was so hot against his and when his tongue slipped past Hinata’s lips and brushed against his own everything went a little fuzzy. Hinata moaned softly and wrapped his arms around Kageyama’s shoulders, standing on his toes to get closer. 

“Hinata…we didn’t turn the microphones off…” Kageyama whispered, his lips still brushing Hinata’s. 

Hinata’s mind finally registered the words and he pulled away, dropping his head so he didn’t have to look at Kageyama. 

“Hold on, let me….”

Kageyama moved away and Hinata shivered at the loss of heat. He moved to the equipment, powering everything down quickly. Hinata stood perfectly still, his hands fidgeting behind his back. The air felt charged. He didn’t want to dwell too much on what exactly was making it feel that way. He could feel his face burning. 

Finally, Kageyama turned to look at him and Hinata saw the same lost, wide-eyed expression on his face. Hinata couldn’t help it; he burst out laughing. It sounded too loud in the silence and Kageyama frowned back at him as he doubled over, bracing himself on his bent knees. 

“I’m sorry Kageyama-kun.” He wheezed, as he took deep breaths in between laughter. He felt giddy, out of his mind.

“Oi…” Kageyama said, annoyed. 

“I’m sorry…it’s just…. your face!” Hinata said, still breathless. Kageyama was scowling at him, arms crossed over his chest. 

“What’s wrong with it?” he asked seriously which cause Hinata to burst into another round of giggles. Instead of answering he stepped forward and reached up to grab the back of Kageyama’s neck and pull him down into a kiss. Despite the grumpy expression he went willingly, one of his hands reaching out to grab Hinata’s hip to steady him. 

“You’re annoying.” He mumbled against Hinata’s mouth. 

Hinata just leaned up and kissed him again. 

~~

They were laying on their backs on the music room floor, shoulders pressed together. Kageyama’s hand was clasped in Hinata’s loosely, his palm warm and wide. 

“If we had to compete against each other who do you think would win?” Hinata asked, quietly, afraid to break the peace between them. 

“Me.” Kageyama said without hesitation and Hinata felt a surge of annoyance before he realized that it wasn’t said in malice; Kageyama wasn’t being conceited. Just honest. Then Hinata realized that it was true. If he ever had to stand on stage and go note for note with Kageyama he would lose. 

His fingers squeezed Kageyama’s hand and after a long heart stopping moment Kageyama squeezed back.

“I guess you’re right.” He said, not willing to agree completely. 

“We’ll never know though.” Kageyama said, turning his head to look at Hinata. He was too close and their eyes crossed when they tried to look at each other. 

“Why do you say that?” Hinata asked, raising one eyebrow. Kageyama shrugged, which looked silly since they were laying on the ground.

“Why would we compete when we could just play together? We’re better that way.” 

Hinata’s whole body flushed and he jerked his head to look back up at the ceiling. 

“How do you always say such embarrassing things with a straight face?” he mumbled, his fingers weaving between Kageyama’s.

“Is it embarrassing? I’m just being honest.” 

And now Kageyama was blushing too, a bright red across his cheekbones. Hinata felt himself smiling. Kageyama was always honest, sometimes gratingly so. 

“You’re right though….” 

Kageyama turned to look at him, patiently waiting for him to continue. 

“We are better together. I’ve never…played the way I do when I’m with you.” 

Kageyama’s’ thumb was brushing soft circles across his knuckles. There was still heat under his skin from how close they were, and from Kageyama’s words. Hinata wondered for a moment if they would still be here without music. If they would have found their way to each some other way. And then he decided that it didn’t matter. Because he couldn’t imagine a life where he didn’t want to play. Now he couldn’t imagine a life without Kageyama either, which was scary. 

“What do you want to do after you leave here?” he asked, voice still soft. It was strange for him, being quiet. Every time they were together he always wanted to preserve that quiet, to make it something secret between them. 

“Play professionally…here or in America.” 

Hinata’s eyes widened.

“You want to move?”

Kageyama shrugged again.

“There’s a lot of opportunity there.”

Hinata waited, his heart thudding against his chest.

“I think you’ll like it.” 

And there it was. So simple for Kageyama but so world shattering for Hinata. He wanted him to come. He wanted to take him thousands of miles away with him, to have a future together. For Kageyama he had already made the decision that they would be playing together, no matter what. 

“You’re annoying.” He mumbled, his face burning. Kageyama looked over at him and glared.

“Oi, if you don’t want to move then we don’t have to. No need to be rude.” 

Hinata couldn’t take it anymore after that, just lifted up on one elbow so he was hovering over Kageyama and kissed him. Kageyama went still before the hand that wasn’t in Hinata’s reached out and cupped the back of his head. He pulled Hinata closer as his lips parted, the kiss deepening. Hinata felt like they were on the edge of something, teetering but not quite going over. His heart clenched as Kageyama kissed him. For once he didn’t have to right words to say.

“We should get everything ready…for Ukai.” Kageyama whispered, his lips still brushing Hinata’s. 

Hinata hummed in agreement but brought their lips back together, hands clutching to keep him close. 

“I’m serious Shou….” 

Hinata jerked back and clasped a hand over Kageyama’s mouth. Kageyama’s eyes were wide, staring at him questioningly. 

“Not fair.” Hinata breathed out, his face flushing. Kageyama pulled his hand away.

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t say my name…” 

Kageyama looked at him for a moment then pulled away, sitting up next to Hinata. 

“I’m sorry…. I didn’t mean to offend you.” 

His voice was clipped. He sounded almost embarrassed. Hinata realized a second too late what it had sounded like to Kageyama. 

“Wait! That’s not what I meant! It’s just…”

Kageyama turned to look at him, eyebrows furrowed. He just watched as Hinata tried to think of the right words, the ones that would explain it clearly. 

“It makes me… feel things?” 

Kageyama just kept staring at him, expression blank. 

“Intimate…things.” Hinata finished lamely, ducking his head. He knew he was probably the color of a lobster at this point and he couldn’t look at Kageyama. He felt something touch his shoulder lightly and he froze, waiting. Kageyama’s hand slid over his shoulder, down his back, over the dip of his spine.

“I like saying it though.” Kageyama whispered, leaning closer. Hinata finally managed to glance over at him, his face still on fire. 

“Tobio.” 

Kageyama’s hand twitched and Hinata watched as his eyes went wide, his cheeks turning red. He smiled knowingly and Kageyama’s hand fell away but he was looking at him, eyes warm. 

“Can I say it once in a while?” he asked quietly, his eyes never leaving Hinata’s face. 

“Maybe once in a while.” Hinata mumbled, leaning over to press their foreheads together. 

Whatever precipice they were on the edge of Hinata felt like they had gotten even closer to going over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so bad at writing in a timely maaaannneeer. I feel like this story is making less and less sense. It's just such a self indulgent piece of shit honestly. I just love writing pretty scenes about music and these idiots kissing each other. Plot? Who needs it! Character development??? Psssh! Actual things happening??? Boooring!  
> Alsooo fun fact that scene where they're laying on the floor was one of the first thing I wrote and I could never find a place for it so I just said screw it and shoved it in this chapter ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> Anyways...anyone still reading this you are all angels. I seriously don't have any words when it comes to people reading my writing and enjoying it (which is why I'm shit at replying to comments) So much love for every single one of you!!!
> 
> P.S. This was going to be 10 chapters but now I'm thinking it ain't.


	10. Chapter 10

It took the whole weekend for Kageyama to finish getting their recording ready. Kenma had kicked Hinata out halfway through Saturday when he couldn’t sit still for longer than two minutes. He had texted Kageyama begging him to let him come help but was shut down immediately. 

“You know we can’t get any work done when we’re in a room alone together.” Kageyama had mumbled into the phone. Hinata could picture him ducking his head and blushing. 

“This is torture.” 

Kageyama had sighed and hung up leaving Hinata to fend for himself for two days. He ended up running and trying to practice, but his hands wouldn’t stop fidgeting, making his bow slip on the strings. After the fourth time Kenma had glared at him before picking up his laptop and leaving the room.  
Sunday morning, he woke up to an empty room and the same nervous energy under his skin. 

~~

Breakfast on Sunday was always boring since Kenma was always at Kuroo’s and Kageyama rarely came to the cafeteria. As Hinata finished his eggs his phone started vibrating on the table next to him. It was a single text from Kageyama. 

_It’s done. Come to my room after lunch._

Hinata could feel his palms starting to sweat. Not only would he be able to listen to their song but it would be in Kageyama’s room. He had never been there but the rumors about it were slightly insane (and most likely over exaggerated). People had told him that Kageyama lived on the highest floor of the dorms in a two-bedroom suite all to himself. He had a baby grand piano and giant bathroom that he didn’t have to share. They all said this with surly expressions. Hinata had just laughed.

Waiting until lunch was definitely torture. Hinata watched the clock on his phone and jiggled his leg under the table. For once he was glad Kenma and Kuroo weren’t there. Kenma would have smacked his knees until he stopped and Kuroo would badger him until he told him why he was so nervous. 

He managed to eat some of his food even though it felt like a brick in the pit of his stomach. He read the second text that had followed the first with Kageyama’s room number for the hundredth time. His hands were already sweating. 

~~

Hinata stood in front of the door marked 1124 for what felt like an hour. He wasn’t sure why he was this nervous. He had seen Kageyama practically every day since the school year started. But now his heart was pounding. 

Finally, he took a deep breath and raised a hand to knock just to have the door swing in revealing Kageyama. Hinata stared at him with wide eyes, hand still poised to knock.

“It’s been ten minutes.” Kageyama said simply, moving aside to gesture Hinata inside.

“You were watching me?!”

“You’re not exactly quiet.” This was said with a smirk and despite his irritation something fluttered in Hinata’s heart. 

“Whatever. Creep.” He mumbled, brushing past Kageyama to enter the room. He stopped in his tracks, taking in his surroundings. 

It wasn’t as large or as fancy as the rumors that people spread around suggested, but it was nice. The two windows were large, with flowing white curtains. All of furniture was dark and shining; a true testament to Kageyama’s anal retentiveness. There was a piano but it wasn’t a baby grand. Just a simple one, lovingly polished with shiny ivory keys. 

“Wow…pays to be the golden boy huh?” Hinata said, turning to smile at Kageyama. He was rewarded with a frown.

“I’m not…shut up. Do you want to listen to this thing or not?” 

Hinata remembered why he was in this room and his heart restarted all over again, beating against his chest.

“Please.” He managed to say, his voice sounding breathless with nerves. Kageyama waved to the bed and Hinata scrambled over, sitting on the edge. He tried not to think of Kageyama sleeping in that very spot every night. He also definitely didn’t think about what Kageyama wore to sleep. Especially with a private room and all. 

Hinata shook his head and focused on the sound of Kageyama moving around by his desk. He was plugging wires into what looked like an oversized computer speaker. Hinata’s mouth had gone dry. 

“Have you listened to it?” he asked quietly. 

Kageyama shook his head, “Not really. I mean I listened to bits and pieces since I had to edit it down.” 

Hinata nodded even though Kageyama wasn’t paying attention to him.

“Are you nervous?” 

Hinata looked up at the question and was met with a steady, blue eyed stare. He wanted to duck his head but held the gaze.

“Yes.”

“You’re very honest.” Another smile. Hinata’s heart skipped.

“Mostly I just don’t think before I speak.”

This earned him a laugh, soft and private and Hinata felt himself flushing. He wanted to kiss him. 

“Alright…. ready?” Kageyama asked, looking up at him again. They stared at each other in perfect silence, not saying what they were really thinking. Hinata could hear the nagging thoughts regardless. What if it was terrible? What if they only imagined that it was good? 

“As I’ll ever be.” He managed to choke out, his throat closing around the words. Kageyama clicked something on his computer and came to sit next to Hinata, the bed dipping with his weight. 

The first note rang out in the silence of the room; a single piano key. Hinata felt his eyes slip closed and he breathed in deep, steadying himself. The notes started to come faster, flowing together like a river, crossing and weaving in perfect harmony. Then he heard it, the first stroke of his bow on the strings, and everything stopped. 

His music joined Kageyama’s like they were meant to be one. It was a stream joining the coursing river. Steady piano interwoven with soaring violin. Flying high and then dipping into the lows of emotion. Hinata felt something squeeze his hand and it took a moment for him to realize that Kageyama was gripping it in his. He could feel the quickened pulse in Kageyama’s wrist as it pressed to his. 

They were joined together just like the notes they had played. It was beautiful and effortless, everything music should ever be. Everything Hinata ever wanted from it. He felt like he was flying. It was different from when he was playing it. Now he could really listen, really hear it. 

Now he knew just how talented Kageyama really was. His fingers squeezed Kageyama’s tightly as the climax of the song hit. Note after note in rapid succession. He could picture his bow flying over the strings, the slender fingers he was holding gliding over keys like breathing. 

With a final shuddering breath, the song came to close and Hinata couldn’t move. His body was frozen but his heart was trying to beat out of his chest. Kageyama was perfectly still next to him. He was scared to open his eyes.

“Shouyou.” 

Hinata’s eyes flew open and he turned just as Kageyama leaned in and kissed him. Everything he had been feeling was sealed inside of this kiss. It was passionate and desperate and beautiful and messy. He tangled his hands in silky hair and gasped against Kageyama’s lips, trying to get closer. 

Kageyama had turned enough that he could wrap his arms around Hinata’s waist, pull him in. Their hearts beat in time as they kissed, lips coming together again and again and again. Kageyama’s teeth nipped at his bottom lip gently, his hands slid under his shirt and over his back, his breath was hot against Hinata’s mouth. 

“Jesus….” Hinata whispered, arms wrapping around Kageyama’s shoulders.

“We didn’t imagine it…it’s…fuck...”

A shiver ran up Hinata’s spine at the words. Kageyama had been worried, just like he had. Now it was confirmed; they were good apart but together they were unstoppable. Everything inside of him was burning. The nervous energy from the past two days twisted and turned into something completely different. He felt like he was drowning. 

“Shou…Hinata, wait.” Kageyama muttered, pulling away just enough to look Hinata in the eyes. 

“Did you hear that!?” Hinata asked, eyes wide and searching. Kageyama smiled, so bright and open that it made Hinata’s breath catch. 

“Yes. Yeah. It’s amazing. You’re…” he bit his lip, stopping what he was going to say. Hinata desperately wanted to hear it but didn’t think he could handle it. Not when he already felt like this. 

“We can just keep kissing.” Hinata suggested, leaning in and kissing Kageyama softly, just once, before pulling away. He was met with a dazed, half lidded gaze and flushed cheeks. 

“No I feel like I need to say this…”

Hinata pulled away further, his arms slipping from Kageyama’s shoulders. His stomach flipped as he waited.

“What I said…when you asked who was better. It was wrong.” 

Hinata opened his mouth to protest but Kageyama kept going.

“You’re incredible. Just as good as I am…”

“That’s stupid.” Hinata said, rolling his eyes.

“It’s true. I would never be able to do what you do.”

A silence stretched between them after that. If his heart was ready to burst before Hinata was pretty sure he was on death’s door now. He reached out a shaky hand and brushed his fingers over Kageyama’s cheekbone. Something was there, on the tip of his tongue, but he bit it back. 

“You’re…an idiot.” He finally managed to say, his voice wavering. Kageyama’s eyes narrowed but he was smiling again. That soft, private smile that was reserved for Hinata. He had to dig his fingernails into his palms this time to keep from saying something stupid. 

“So…do you want to go for a run?” Kageyama asked quietly, his hand catching Hinata’s and weaving their fingers together. Hinata thought about what would happen if they stayed, here in Kageyama’s room with their song still playing in their heads. His face flushed and he ducked his head.

“Yes. We should definitely do that. Right now.” 

Kageyama smiled knowingly and stood up. Before he walked to grab his running shorts he turned back and leaned over, kissing Hinata gently. 

“I really like you.” He whispered, lips brushing Hinata’s. 

“Running. Now!” Hinata yelled, pushing him away, his face burning. 

~~

They ran until their legs were ready to give out. Hinata’s lungs burned and his face was dripping with sweat but he kept going until Kageyama stopped, just a couple of steps ahead of him. They stood with their hands on their knees, panting. Kageyama looked up at him through the damp strands of his bangs and Hinata’s breathing shallowed. 

“We should go…to our rooms now.” He said, turning to look away. Kageyama huffed out a laugh and Hinata’s face burned.

“Okay.” 

Soft lips brushed his burning cheek and he turned to blink at Kageyama, surprised.

“See you tomorrow.” 

Hinata watched him walk up to the front door and disappear behind it. His heart was doing somersaults. 

~~

“Kenma?” 

The room was silent except for the steady ticking of the clock that Kenma insisted on having even though he usually just looked at the one of his phone. 

“Hm?” 

Hinata sat up and looked over at the bed next to him. Kenma was sitting up against his pillows, pale face illuminated by his laptop screen. 

“How did you…?” Hinata stopped, frowning and turning his face away even though Kenma wasn’t looking at him.

“Shouyou...” 

The name was so different coming from Kenma. When Kageyama said it felt like fire was flowing through his veins. Kenma saying it reminded him of his sister, warm and friendly and calming. It grounded him.

“How did you know that you loved Kuroo?” he asked, his voice rushing out of him. After a long moment he turned to look at Kenma and was met with a soft smile.

“Well if you’re asking then isn’t that answer enough?”

Hinata’s hands gripped his sheets, his heart hammering away. 

“Crap.” He said simply, flopping down against his pillows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did I tell you...music and kissing. That's what this fic consists of. Buuuuuut next chapter is going to be people hearing their music for the first time soooo...plot development? Kind of?  
> Honestly writing this is almost like therapy. Thank you for reading! Your comments and kudos make me ugly cry!!


	11. Chapter 11

Hinata walked to Music Comp slowly, teeth worrying his bottom lip. He had barely managed to get any sleep, his mind filled with thoughts of Kageyama and more importantly imagining everyone’s reactions to their song. 

Kageyama had texted him that morning to tell him that he had sent the file to Ukai. Hinata spent an entire minute internally freaking out afterwards. It was one thing to listen to it with Kageyama (even though even that was nerve wracking). Now they had to listen to it with their entire class. 

The door to the classroom looked huge. He took a deep steadying breath and raised his hand to push it open. He jumped as long fingers wound around his wrist, stopping his hand in midair. He turned with wide eyes to find Kageyama next to him. He looked pale and Hinata could tell he hadn’t slept much either.

“Shouyou…” Kageyama whispered quietly, his fingers squeezing Hinata’s wrist. Butterflies erupted in his stomach as Kageyama tugged him down the hall, leading him around the corner. 

The hall was almost empty, with almost everyone in their classrooms already. Kageyama glanced around quickly then pulled Hinata forward, his arms wrapping around him and holding him. Hinata froze for a moment, his hands fluttering uselessly against Kageyama’s back. Hinata could feel the rabbit quick beating of Kageyama’s heart and he melted in his embrace, hands gripping the back of his shirt. 

“Are you nervous?” Kageyama whispered against his hair. Hinata snorted.

“Do you really need to ask?” 

Quick as a flash Kageyama kissed the side of his head and pulled away. 

“Let’s go.” He said simply, tugging Hinata’s sleeve to get him to follow. They walked back to the classroom, Hinata’s legs wobbly. 

~~

Hinata froze as they walked through the door, the two giant speakers in front of the room the only thing he could see. Ukai was already at his desk, sitting down in his chair for once. He glanced up when they came in and motioned them over.

Kageyama sent a look over his shoulder at Hinata, smiling softly. 

“I just want you two to know…I haven’t listened to it yet. So this better not be inappropriate.” Ukai said slowly, his chin resting on his folded hands. Hinata felt himself blushing as he remembered kissing Kageyama while the recording equipment was still on. 

“Nothing inappropriate.” Kageyama said quickly when Ukai raised an eyebrow at Hinata. 

“Alright, have a seat.” 

Hinata managed to walk to his chair by sheer force of will. His entire body felt like it was made out of pudding. Kageyama kept sending him concerned looks but Hinata focused on the front of the class. If he looked over, he wouldn’t be able to hide how terrified he was. 

“Everyone listen up…” Ukai said as soon as the final bell rang. He stood up and walked to the front of the class. 

“Today we have a slightly out of the ordinary presentation by Hinata and Kageyama. They have recorded their assignment and we’ll be listening to it.” 

Hinata tried to ignore the confused murmurs of the people around him. Even though Ukai had agreed to their request it didn’t meant that it wasn’t strange. Kageyama’s hand gently bumped his before he placed it back in his lap. Hinata breathed in deeply, forcing his eyes up to the front of the room. Ukai was looking at them, eyebrows furrowed. Once again Hinata wondered if they had imagined the entire thing. If maybe, just maybe, it only sounded good to them. He could feel his feelings for Kageyama stirring in his chest, clouding everything in warmth and light. 

“Here goes nothing.” Ukai said, turning to press a button on the player he had set up. There was a silence then the first note rang out, echoing through the room. It sounded bigger, louder, than it had when he had been sitting in Kageyama’s bed. Hinata imagined hearing it through someone else’s ears. Hearing it for the first time without any of the feelings behind it. 

Another note followed the first, then they came quicker, the same as the last time Hinata had heard it. The music flowed and there, after a heart stopping moment was the sound of his violin, joining the song seamlessly. 

His hands gripped the sides of his chair, his eyes fixed on the floor in front of him. He refused to look up. He felt Kageyama sitting beside him, impossibly still. Despite his efforts at calming Hinata down he was clearly just as nervous. 

The song rang out around them, wrapping them in their own emotions. Hinata felt himself flushing. Now that he was aware of his feelings it was so obvious. He had poured them into every note he had played. Kageyama must be able to hear it. Everyone probably could. Embarrassment flooded over him and he felt his hands starting to sweat. 

Finally, he took a deep breath and glanced up. He froze. Ukai was staring at them, eyes wide, and mouth slightly open. Hinata blinked and looked around the room. Every single person was looking at them, shocked and still. The music kept playing as Hinata looked around. His eyes landed on Kageyama who had reacted to him moving by looking around as well. Hinata could see him frowning. 

The last note faded out into a stunned silence as they both sat there, waiting. Ukai was still looking at them, as if he had never seen them before. Kageyama was starting to fidget. Hinata could feel his heart starting to pound. 

“How…” Ukai started, his mouth opening and closing a few times. The first clap made Hinata jump. Then it was followed by another and another until the entire class was in an uproar. Clapping was joined by whistling and Hinata turned to Kageyama with wide eyes, his mouth pulling up in a smile. Kageyama’s face was slightly pink but he was smiling too, softer. Hinata resisted the urge to lean over and kiss him. 

“Ok settle down!” Ukai called out, the class slowly quieting. 

There was a silence as Ukai looked at them, arms crossed over his chest. 

“You two met this year?” he asked.

Hinata nodded. 

“And you didn’t write any of that down? No sheet music?” 

This time they both shook their heads.

“How in the hell…?” he said, laughing and throwing his hands up. Hinata felt himself smiling, his face warm from the attention. He could still feel the eyes of their classmates on them. 

“You pass.” Ukai said simply, walking around and sitting down behind his desk.

~~

“We passed!” Hinata said excitedly, throwing his arms around Kageyama. It was after dinner and he had raced to Kageyama’s room as soon as the bell rang. He felt strong arms pulling him close and he melted into the embrace. 

“We did. They seemed to really like it.” Kageyama said quietly, his hands running over Hinata’s back. He shivered at the touch.

“Are you kidding? They loved it!” he said, pulling away just enough to look at Kageyama. He froze at the sight. Ever since they met everything Kageyama did was stifled. Small smiles and quiet laughs and soft touches. Now he was smiling brightly, his eyes squinting. Hinata’s breath caught in his throat. 

“Jesus…warn a guy would you?” he breathed out. Kageyama’s smile faded a bit and his eyebrows pulled together in a frown. Hinata cupped his face between his hands and pulled him forward, kissing him. Without missing a beat Kageyama kissed him back, hands dropping to his waist. His lips were warm and soft and Hinata felt himself going pliant against Kageyama, his mouth opening at the first touch of tongue against his bottom lip. 

Something warm and insistent was building inside of him as they kissed, hands roaming. Hinata had never concerned himself with kissing or anything that came after it. It never seemed as important as his music. Now though, with Kageyama holding him so close, all he could think about was getting even closer. He imagined what it would feel like to slide his hands down and feel nothing but soft skin. His cheeks burned and he slowly pulled himself away, their lips parting with a soft sound. Kageyama blinked at him, eyes half lidded and unfocused. His lips were kiss swollen and red. Hinata’s pulse jumped and he stepped back further. 

“What’s wrong?” Kageyama asked quietly, his hands falling away from where they had been holding his hips. 

“We’re in your room…. alone…” he said, his cheeks still flushed. Kageyama blinked then seemed to comprehend the words, his own face turning bright red. He turned his face away, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans. 

“Right…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” 

“You didn’t!” Hinata started, thinking about what to say without epically embarrassing himself. “I’m the one…I was…” 

He cut himself off with a frustrated huff. Kageyama had looked up at him again, smiling gently. 

“Want to listen to the song again?” he asked, clearly changing the subject. Hinata let out a relived breath and nodded. They sat down on the edge of the bed, leaving a space between them. They listened to their song three times, pausing in between to discuss things they could have done differently, and things they really liked. Hinata had watched Kageyama every time and wondered if he could feel the song the way he could. If the raw emotion was as clear to Kageyama as it was to him. 

“We should call it a night…” 

Hinata looked over as Kageyama stifled a yawn behind his hand. He couldn’t help the smile as he agreed quietly. They kissed goodnight, just a soft touch of lips and Kageyama pressed a USB drive into his palm. 

“Our song.” He whispered, before kissing Hinata’s cheek and disappearing into his room. 

~~

Kenma was in their room when Hinata finally made it back. He had taken his time walking through the empty halls. His lips still tingled from the memory of Kageyama kissing him. That same warm feeling was still in the pit of his stomach, begging for his attention. He had ignored it, focusing instead on remembering the reaction of everyone that afternoon. It seemed almost like a dream.

Now he looked over at Kenma, sitting on his bed with his legs crossed, laptop perched in his lap and his headphones covering his ears.

“Hey.” Hinata said, tapping Kenma’s shoulder lightly. Kenma blinked up at him, eyebrows drawn together.

“Oh hi…what is it? How did it go?” 

Hinata didn’t answer, instead held up the USB that Kageyama had given him in front of Kenma. He looked at it before taking it from Hinata’s hand gently. 

“Is this it?” He asked, turning the USB over between his fingers. Hinata nodded, his heart hammering against his chest. Kenma looked at him again, tilting his head in question. 

“You can listen.” Hinata answered, sitting down on his own bed and watching. Kenma smiled at him, plugging the USB into his laptop and sliding his headphones over his ears again. Hinata watched him close his eyes and he waited. He could tell the moment the song started, the first few chords of flawless piano. Kenma had heard Kageyama play before but still his face relaxed into a look of slight admiration with just a touch of envy. It was the same look everyone had when Kageyama played.

Then Kenma’s eyebrows shot up, his eyes opening wide. He blinked rapidly, his lips parting. Hinata watched as his eyes flicked back and forth, as if reading sheet music. Hinata knew that he was picturing what it might look like on a page. Kenma’s eyebrows were furrowed, his lips pulling into a flat line. 

It was a long while before Kenma finally slid the headphones from his ears. He was still looking ahead, his eyelashes fluttering.

“Shouyou….” 

Hinata waited, his hands wringing in his lap.

“What the hell _was_ that?” 

~~

Hinata walked to breakfast slowly the next morning, his eyes burning from lack of sleep. Kenma had kept him up late, going over the song over and over. At one point he had tried to turn it into sheet music only to give up with a frustrated huff. Hinata had watched him with wide eyes. It was strange seeing Kenma in such a frenzied mood.  
Eventually Hinata had fallen asleep while still sitting up and Kenma had allowed him to get into bed. But not before he informed Hinata that he was sending the file to Kuroo.

“He needs to hear this.” 

Now Hinata grabbed the first thing he could find in the breakfast line, which turned out to be gloopy oatmeal, and went to sit at their regular table only to find Kuroo already there. His hands were folded on the table, his eyes following Hinata as he wearily sat down.

“You listened to it didn’t you?” he asked, already preparing himself for the onslaught. Kuroo nodded, his eyes searching Hinata’s face. 

“What? Aren’t you going to say anything?” Hinata asked, impatient. 

“Does Kageyama know that you’re in love with him?”

Hinata felt his breath catch and his eyes widened. Kuroo was smiling at him like his suspicions were confirmed. 

“I…I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Really? Because you basically played him a love confession.”

Hinata felt his cheeks flushing and he ducked his head. Everyone else had focused on the technical aspect of their playing. The impossibility of it. Kuroo had zeroed in on the emotion in a way that nobody else had. 

“I mean the entire thing is insane. You guys are total freaks.” Kuroo continued, pulling Hinata’s tray across the table and scooping a bite of the oatmeal into his mouth.

“But seriously though…you weren’t even trying to be subtle.”

Hinata wrung his hands together. 

“I wasn’t…it’s not like I meant to! I didn’t even know when we played it. It just…happened?”

Kuroo snorted, eating more of the oatmeal.

“This is gross.” He mumbled, scooping some more into his mouth. “And you’re head over heels.” 

“Would you keep it down!?” 

Kuroo looked around the mostly empty cafeteria and smiled over at him. 

“Look…this thing you guys have? It’s one a million. One in a billion even. Do you even get how lucky you are?” 

Hinata sat in stunned silence as Kuroo finished his breakfast.

“Tell him.” Kuroo said quietly, leaning across the table before getting up and stretching.

“See ya.” he said with a final wave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been in such a slump lately when it comes to writing. So if you're still reading this thank you. You have no idea how much it means to me. Even one person reading and commenting or giving kudos is incredible. I appreciate it more than you will ever know. I love every single lovely human who takes time out of their day to read my words.


	12. Chapter 12

“Hinata!” 

Hinata stopped in his tracks, turning to find Professor Ukai behind him, waving him over. He walked over cautiously.

“I need to ask you and Kageyama something. Do you mind coming to my room later?” he asked, bending down to be at eye level with Hinata, whose heart started to pound. Had he figured it out? 

“Oh…I suppose?”

“Great!” Ukai said cheerily, clapping him on the shoulder and walking away without another word. Hinata fumbled for his phone, taking it out and texting Kageyama to meet him in the music room. He walked over swiftly, his feet on autopilot. His mind was already racing with what Ukai could possibly want to talk about. The first thing that came to mind was his relationship with Kageyama. 

“Hey.” 

Hinata looked up and realized he was already by the music room, and Kageyama was standing in the doorway, clearly waiting for him. Whatever he was feeling was clearly written all over his face because Kageyama frowned and pulled him into the room. 

“What’s wrong?” 

Hinata quickly told him what Ukai had said, his words rushing out of him. Kageyama listened patiently, his hand still wrapped around Hinata’s wrist, his thumb rubbing the sensitive skin there.

“What’s the big deal?” Kageyama finally asked after Hinata told him it might be about them being together. 

“What do you mean what’s the big deal?! He knows!”

Kageyama shrugged.

“Do you care that much if people know?” 

Hinata opened his mouth to respond but stopped himself. Did he care? He thought about his classmates and his professors finding out. He thought about the whispers and the rumors and the looks. Then he looked at Kageyama, who was looking at him with those blue eyes, mouth set in a straight line. Hinata reached forward and pressed a finger into the crease between Kageyama’s eyebrows gently. 

“I don’t if you don’t.” he said quietly, despite the uncontrollable beating of his heart. Kageyama smiled, pulling him forward slightly until their noses brushed.

“I don’t care if the whole world knows.” 

“Idiot.” Hinata whispered, his face burning with embarrassment. Despite that, when Kageyama kissed him, he kissed him back.

~~

They stood in front of Ukai’s desk, hands clasped behind their backs, waiting patiently. Ukai was sitting across from them, looking at them with furrowed eyebrows. Hinata’s hands were sweating and his gripped them tighter together. 

“I have a proposition for you.” Ukai finally said. Hinata titled his head in confusion, glancing over at Kageyama, who was standing statue still next to him.

“There’s a yearly competition that’s held in Tokyo. Only the top three students from each school are allowed to attend. Usually we invite upperclassmen but-”  
Hinata waited, his heart beating like crazy.

“This year I want to recommend you two.” 

Hinata saw Kageyama shift, clearly surprised.

“Us?” Hinata squeaked out. Ukai was smiling slightly, his eyes flicking between the two of them. 

“This might be the stupidest thing I’ve ever done but yes. You’ll need to prepare a new piece. One you can play more than once. You’ll need to audition in front of the school board then for the competition committee.”

Hinata thought about the song they played, wondering if he could ever play it again, exactly as he had the first time. 

“I don’t think-” He started, but Ukai raised a hand to cut him off.

“Try. Let me know by the end of the month.”

Hinata’s mouth clicked shut and he looked over at Kageyama again. He had spent almost every day with him since school had started and he was proud of the fact that he could read him pretty well at this point. He could tell that Kageyama was excited. His eyes sparkled when he finally glanced over at Hinata. His mouth turned up slightly and Hinata forced himself to smile back, despite the butterflies in his stomach.

~~

“We can do this.” Kageyama said as they walked down the hallway. Hinata slowed his steps, making Kageyama stop and look at him.

“I don’t think I can…”

A warm hand came up and covered his mouth, cutting off his words. Kageyama looked at him, eyes unwavering.

“Listen to me…. if it was anyone else but you, I would say there was no way. But some people would have said that about what we did the first time. Shouyou…”

Hinata’s heart skipped.

“We can do this.” 

~~

The panic set in that night. Hinata felt his breathing getting shallow as he glanced over at the clock on his bedside table. It was almost three in the morning. Kenma had snuck out an hour before, taking his laptop with him. Hinata knew that he liked to sit in the garden on the roof and write. Now he felt crippling loneliness crushing him as he struggled to breathe. 

He felt around for his phone, his fingers clumsy. With shaking hands, he managed to find Kageyama’s name, pressing the phone to his ear. 

“’Lo?” was the sleepy answer and instantly Hinata felt like he could breathe again. He closed his eyes, his heart slowing. 

“Hinata…? Are you alright?” Kageyama sounded more awake, and Hinata could hear the soft sounds of him sitting up.

“I’m sorry. I was…freaking out a little bit.” 

He could hear Kageyama’s soft breathing on the other end of the phone. He let himself match it, his body relaxing against his sheets.

“It’s alright. What’s going on?”

Hinata thought about lying, making up some silly story about a test or an upcoming project. Instead he took a deep breath and decided to tell the truth.

“I don’t think I can do this. The competition, I mean. I’m not ready. Please don’t hate me.”

There was a long silence and Hinata squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the argument that would surely come. 

“Dumbass…why didn’t you just tell me that? We don’t need to do it, you know. There’s always next year.” Kageyama’s voice was even, almost gentle, despite the name calling. Hinata let out a breath he wasn’t aware he was holding, feeling almost dizzy with relief.

“Thank you…” he muttered, holding the phone closer to his ear. 

“Are you feeling better? Do you need me to…?” Kageyama’s words faded out with a self-conscious sigh before he mumbled a quiet ‘never mind’.

“Do I need you to what, Kageyama-kun?” Hinata teased, feeling a million times lighter.

“I was going to say come over there- but you’re an idiot so I take it back.”

Hinata froze, his eyes widening. He looked over at Kenma’s empty bed and thought about Kageyama sneaking into his room and lying down next to him. He thought about waking up with Kageyama pressed against him. His face burned.

“If you’d like…” 

Kageyama coughed, clearly taken by surprise.

“Maybe not tonight?” Hinata added quickly, his stomach clenching with nervousness. He heard a relived sigh and smiled.

“Sure. Next time.” 

They bid each other goodnight, Hinata biting his tongue to stop himself from saying anything stupid. He fell asleep with the sound of Kageyama’s voice in his mind.

~~

“Ready?” 

Hinata nodded. They had decided after they had turned in their assignment to keep practicing together. They already knew how to play their own instruments perfectly. Playing together was like starting from scratch. It was a whole new world of music that Hinata had only started to experience. He wanted more of it. 

Kageyama sat behind the piano, his eyes trained on the keys as he started playing. The song was dark; booming notes vibrating through Hinata’s bones. He closed his eyes and listened, his bow poised over his strings. Kageyama’s fingers moved over the keys effortlessly. Hinata didn’t need to watch to know that. A higher note rang out through the darkness and Hinata jumped in, his notes soaring over the foundation that Kageyama had laid out for him. Where their last song had been a dance; two entities flowing together effortlessly, this was the opposite. It was a battle. Light against dark. Booming low notes were joined by soaring high, his bow moving over the strings quickly. 

Kageyama was a cave, full of mystery and darkness and Hinata was the sunlight at the end. 

They didn’t know when to stop so Hinata played until his fingers were sore and his shoulder began to protest. As if sensing it Kageyama finally faded out slowly, the notes coming to an end organically. Hinata dropped his bow and glanced over at Kageyama. 

The same feeling was passing between them, the connection that felt like it was a million years old. Hinata swallowed back the emotion he could feel bubbling out of him. Kageyama was looking at him, steady and unblinking. 

“Shouyou, I-”

“Well done gentlemen.” 

They both jerked in surprise, turning to find Ukai leaning in the doorway.

“That was really something else. I mean hearing it recorded is one thing but this…. wow.” 

Hinata felt exposed. 

“I really hope you’ve been considering my offer.” Ukai said slowly, making his way into the room. Hinata looked over at Kageyama. His bangs were brushed off to the side, his blue eyes wide. Hinata could see it, the true joy that was there. He could feel warmth spreading through him.

“Well…. we’ve decided…”

“We’ll do it.” 

Kageyama looked at him in surprise as Hinata stepped forward, his words still hanging in the air. Ukai grinned, gripping his shoulder excitedly. 

“Excellent!”

~~

After Ukai left Kageyama pulled him to the side, behind the rows of music stands, out of the view of the doorway.

“I thought you didn’t want to do it.” Kageyama said quietly, his fingers weaving between Hinata’s. Hinata squeezed his hand gently. 

“You do.”

“Don’t do this for me.” 

Hinata felt himself pouting slightly and Kageyama raised an amused eyebrow, pushing his index finger against Hinata’s bottom lip.

“I’m not. I’m doing this because I want people to hear our music. I happen to think it’s pretty good.”

Kageyama snorted, leaning his forehead against Hinata’s.

“It is, isn’t it?”

Kageyama kissed him and it felt like a promise. Hinata clung onto him like he would fall if he didn’t. Much later Kageyama walked him to his room, hands still clasped together and lips still tingling. Hinata could feel that same persistent itch under his skin that he had been feeling more and more lately. He glanced over at Kageyama; at his flushed cheeks and dark eyelashes. Desire raced through him, because that’s what it was, he had realized. He wanted Kageyama. Wanted to touch him and be touched by him. He flushed at the thought, turning his face away in case Kageyama could tell what he was thinking from his expression. 

“Here we are.” 

Hinata stopped walking, looking at his door. His throat felt tight, like he wanted to cry or shout. Kageyama was looking at him with a soft expression on his face, his eyes sweeping over Hinata. 

“I-I like you. A lot.” The words burst out of Hinata before he could stop them. Kageyama’s eyes widened just slightly but he was still smiling. 

“I like you too. What’s that about all of a sudden?” 

Hinata shrugged, turning his burning face against his own shoulder to hide it. Kageyama brushed a hand over his arm softly, tugging on his shirt sleeve. 

“Hey… look at me.”

Hinata moved his eyes to look, his cheek still turned away. Kageyama’s face was different; his expression was almost fragile. Hinata’s heart skipped and he turned his face forward instinctively. 

“This- “Kageyama cut himself off with a frustrated huff. “It’s hard for me. Feelings.” 

Hinata almost laughed at how difficult it was for Kageyama to find the right words to say. But he realized he didn’t find it particularly funny; more hopelessly charming. 

“Me too.” Hinata finally mumbled, shrugging one shoulder. Kageyama smiled, just one corner of his mouth turning up. 

“I do know one thing.” 

Hinata waited for Kageyama to continue. Instead he leaned forward and caught Hinata’s lips in kiss.

“I really like doing that…” he whispered, mouth still close enough that it brushed Hinata’s with every word. He shivered and pushed closer, his arms winding around Kageyama’s neck. 

It was a long while before he finally made it inside his room.

~~

“Shouyou!” 

Hinata jumped at the shout, closing the door of their room behind him. Kenma was sitting up in his bed, gold eyes wide with excitement.

“What is it?” he asked slowly, keeping his hand on the door handle in case he needed to escape. 

“I figured it out! I actually did it!” 

Hinata didn’t need to be confused for long because the next second Kenma had gotten up and thrust his laptop in his face. The screen was all sheet music and on it were a mess of notes, tiny and close together. As Hinata’s eyes moved over the piece it seemed almost impossible, like it shouldn’t exist. 

“Uh…what?” 

“It’s your song! I stayed up every night since you gave it to me trying to write it and I finally did it. Shouyou…”

Hinata’s mouth dropped open but Kenma kept going, practically jittering in his excitement. 

“This piece…it should be impossible to play. Do you get that? You and Kageyama-you did something incredible.”

Hinata felt his face flushing. It had always felt impossible to him, playing with Kageyama. But hearing it from someone else, someone like Kenma, brought a whole new light to it. Their connection, so strange and strong, was unexplainable. But it was there. It was staring him in the face, a sea of tiny black notes.

“I- “

Kenma had already retreated back to his bed, his fingers tapping frantically on his laptop. Hinata’s skin itched with the desire to turn around and march down to Kageyama’s room. He wanted to see him, to touch him, to make sure he was real.

“I-I’m going out!” he said, his voice too loud. Kenma blinked up at him.

“Don’t wait up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm crying at the ridiculous amount of love I got on the last chapter. Every time I feel down about my writing you guys leave me the most amazing comments. My heart is so full. I honestly can't thank you enough.


	13. Chapter 13

The door to Kageyama’s room seemed a million times more daunting in the dark than it had in the daytime. Hinata stared at it, following the sweep of the grain with his eyes.  
What the hell was he _doing_? He looked down at his phone and the time blinked back at him. Almost midnight. He took a deep breath and raised his hand only to drop it back down, shaking his head. 

“I should go back…this is stupid.” He muttered, his hand gripping his phone tightly. Kageyama was probably asleep. Or what if he wasn’t and he didn’t want to see him? That would be awful. Hinata groaned quietly, turning away from the door. 

“Stupid…so stupid…”

Then he heard the door swinging open behind him and he spun around, eyes wide. Kageyama was clearly wide awake and blinking at him in confusion.

“Hinata? Wha-“

“Sorry! I couldn’t sleep and I…this is stupid. I’m sorry.” He turned to leave, his face burning but a hand on his elbow stopped him. He turned to look at Kageyama who was smiling softly. He was wearing loose gray pajama pants that were a little too long for him and a blue t-shirt. His feet were bare. Hinata snapped his gaze up when he realized that he was staring.

“Stay.” Kageyama said simply, pulling Hinata towards the open door. 

~~

They sat on the bed, close enough to feel the other but not close enough to touch. Hinata’s palms itched with the need to reach over and feel if Kageyama’s shirt was as soft as it looked. 

“Hey…want to hear something I’ve been working on? For the competition?” Kageyama asked quietly. Hinata nodded eagerly. He could never pass up an opportunity to hear Kageyama play. 

“Wait, won’t your neighbors get mad?” Hinata asked, pointing at the wall behind him. All he got in return was a shrug and a soft ‘they’re used to it’. He ducked his head to hide his smile. 

Kageyama moved over to his piano, sitting behind it and closing his eyes. Hinata’s breath was in his throat, his pulse kicking up in anticipation. There was a pause then the music started. It was completely different from the piece they had played together. It was soft, dreamy; almost like a lullaby. At some points it faded out to almost nothing only to start back up again in a flurry of gentle notes. They flowed together, calming Hinata’s heart. He could feel the song swirling behind his eyelids, feeling like a soft blanket around his shoulders. He sighed quietly, closing his eyes and letting the music flow over him. 

He barely noticed when it stopped. He blinked his eyes open to find Kageyama looking at him, soft smile on his lips. 

“Feeling better?” he asked, just as quiet as the song he had played. Hinata nodded. 

“Works every time.” He said, smile pulling up even more. 

“You tricked me.” He mumbled. All he wanted was to fall back against the bed, pull the covers over himself and fall asleep. Kageyama stood up from the piano and walked over slowly. Hinata could see him hesitate before he finally stepped in front of him. 

“Sleep here.” 

Hinata blinked, suddenly feeling very awake. 

“Huh?”

Kageyama’s face was flushing and he was looking at the carpet.

“Dumbass why do you always make me repeat these things. You heard me.” 

“Ask me again.”

Kageyama huffed, leaning over slightly until their faces were level. His eyes were determined but he was still blushing.

“Sleep here. With me.”

Hinata’s heart was in his throat. 

“Ok.”

~~

In hind sight Hinata wasn’t sure what he had planned on when he came to Kageyama’s room. It certainly wasn’t this. Kageyama had pulled the covers back and Hinata had scrambled under them quickly, pulling them up to his chin. He got an eye roll and a smile for his efforts and his heart skipped. 

Now Kageyama was lying next to him, close enough that Hinata could feel the heat of his body. There was barely an inch between them and Hinata wanted to close that distance. Except he was frozen. 

“Relax. I’m not going to do anything.” Kageyama said quietly. When Hinata looked over his eyes were closed, his arm folded behind his head. He looked so handsome that Hinata couldn’t breathe for a second. The moon cast a blue glow over his tan skin. His straight nose and his black eyelashes and the full pout of his lower lip all made Hinata’s brain feel like melting out of his skull. 

“What if I wanted you too?” he whispered, half hoping Kageyama wouldn’t hear him. Black eyelashes fluttered and blue eyes turned to look at him.

“Wha-“

“I’m just saying…if you wanted to. I wouldn’t exactly say no.” 

There was a heavy silence between them in which Hinata couldn’t stand that weight of that gaze anymore. He looked at the ceiling instead, his hands shaking where they were gripping the covers tightly. The bed dipped next to him and then Kageyama was hovering above him, braced on one elbow. Hinata’s breath caught. 

“Can I kiss you?” 

Hinata nodded, his eyes falling closed. Black hair brushed his forehead as Kageyama leaned in and then those soft lips were covering his. It was so warm and as Kageyama’s mouth opened against his Hinata melted into the kiss. The soft brush of Kageyama’s tongue against his bottom lip sent a shiver down his spine and he reached his arms wrap to wrap them around broad shoulders. It felt so good to have Kageyama that close. Hinata could feel a stirring in his stomach, low and insistent. Kageyama kissed him slowly, using one hand to tilt his chin up. Hinata could feel his heart pounding and his breath getting labored. 

Kageyama’s hand slid down his jaw and landed on his neck, brushing against the skin there lightly. Another shiver ran down Hinata’s body. He sighed against Kageyama’s mouth, trying to pull him even closer. Kageyama pulled away with a soft sound.

“Shouyou…” he whispered, kissing the side of Hinata’s face and down the line of his neck. Hinata was practically vibrating out of his skin, his fingers clutching the soft fabric covering Kageyama’s shoulders.

“We should sleep.” Kageyama whispered, his mouth hovering over Hinata’s ear. There was a pang of disappointment but an even bigger feeling of relief. Hinata hands were shaking when he pulled them away from Kageyama. 

“Yeah, good idea.” He breathed out, his heart still thundering. 

He wanted to do so much. To push the shirt over Kageyama’s head and trace the lines of muscle he could feel every time they pressed their bodies together. He wanted to lick every inch of tan skin and leave his mark. He wanted…too much. And the thought of it made him feel dizzy.

Kageyama was looking down at him, hand back on his cheek, his thumb brushing Hinata’s cheekbone gently. 

“Goodnight.” He whispered, leaning in and kissing Hinata softly on the corner of his lips. Hinata turned his head and kissed him straight on the mouth, breathing in Kageyama’s scent. 

“Night.” He mumbled, his eyes hazy. 

They fell asleep with Kageyama’s chest pressed against Hinata’s back, his arm looped around Hinata’s waist. It felt perfect.

~~

Hinata raced to his first class, his feet almost slipping against the wood floor. He had woken up late, with Kageyama’s arms wrapped tightly around him and his face tucked into the crook of Hinata’s neck. It had been impossibly hard to pull away. Afterwards he ran to his room to change and grab his things, ignoring Kenma’s pointed looks and raced to class. 

The whole day all he could think about was how it had felt to wake up with Kageyama, the calm feeling of having him there. His face flushed as he looked down at his desk, his assignment still blank. This was bad.

~~

“We should practice today.” Kageyama whispered while they were in Music Comp. Hinata glanced over at him and his heart skipped. They had spent a night together. 

“Oh, yeah. Definitely.” 

Even his absent mindedness couldn’t prevent him from getting excited about playing with Kageyama. Kissing him, sleeping next to him, having his arms wrapped around him were all amazing and even thinking about it sent a thrill up his spine. But nothing compared to playing with him. It felt like their souls were intertwining every time. He felt bare and raw and open when they played. 

Then it hit him, the entire reason that he went to Kageyama’s last night. He reached out and clasped a hand around Kageyama’s elbow, excited. He was met with a wide eyed look of surprise.

“Kenma wrote out our song!” he whispered frantically, shaking Kageyama’s arm. Kageyama’s eyebrows furrowed.

“What are you talking about?”

“The one we did for class. He wrote the sheet music for it.” 

Kageyama blinked and then his eyes widened.

“Are you serious?” 

Hinata nodded, grinning. 

“We need him to listen to us.”

~~

Kenma settled himself in the corner of the music room, his laptop poised on his knees. He wasn’t looking at them which calmed Hinata’s nerves somewhat. Apart from accidentally playing for Ukai they had never actually played in front of anyone. That fact was making him jittery. Kageyama didn’t look much better. His hands were shifting in his lap as he sat behind his piano, long fingers squeezing together. Hinata watched for a moment, the memory of those hands holding him making his heart speed up. He shook his head slightly, trying to focus. 

“Ready.” Kenma said quietly, blinking up at them. Hinata took a deep steadying breath and glanced over at Kageyama and got a stiff nod in return. He placed his violin on his shoulder gently, his bow clutched in his other hand. Then he closed his eyes and waited. 

It was a couple of seconds before the first note rang out. It was the same song they had played before, just slightly altered. It still had the darkness in it but now it was smoother. Less like a cave, more like a deep ocean. Hinata’s fingers flexed around the neck of his violin and his bow lifted. 

Kageyama’s notes dipped and Hanta followed. The piano was a storm. Hinata was the lightning. The darkness was punctured by his notes, short bursts of light. Hinata could see it, the rolling waves, the black clouds threatening to overtake everything. He kept playing, fighting for his place in Kageyama’s music. It wasn’t a dance or a battle. They were working together for the same goal, but with different elements. Hinata’s heart thundered in time with the music. His hands were remarkably steady.  
It lasted for what felt like forever, the sun finally breaking through the storm and glittering over the water. Hinata felt the song die down and his arm dropped, the muscles shivering under his skin. He waited, Kageyama’s notes fading out as well. Then he blinked his eyes open. 

Kageyama was already looking at him, not smiling, his eyes dark. There was a small noise from the corner and they both jumped. Kenma was still sitting there, his gold eyes impossibly wide.

“You’re demons.” 

Hinata blinked at him. 

“It’s not possible…none of that was possible.” He mumbled to himself, his eyes falling to his laptop as his fingers raced over the keyboard. After a few minutes of tapping he stood up and walked over to the piano, plopping the laptop on top of it. Hinata stepped forward and they all looked at the screen. 

It _wasn’t_ possible. It looked…like a mess if Hinata was being completely honest. Any music student would take one look at it and laugh. 

“It looks like a five-year-old wrote it.” Kageyama mumbled, his eyes sweeping over the notes. 

“Exactly. But it definitely didn’t sound like it.” Kenma said back, his voice louder than Hinata had remembered hearing it. 

“I – “ Hinata started. He looked at the sheet music and his heart fell. There was no way they could play that again. 

Kageyama was already looking at him when he glanced over. Hinata could see the same thought on his face. 

“You’re both impossible. I need to lie down.” Kenma grumbled, scooping up his laptop and walking out of the room. 

“Should we follow him?” Kageyama asked. Hinata just shook his head, walking around and sitting down next to Kageyama on the bench. 

“We can’t do this can we?” he asked quietly, his violin still clutched in his hand. Kageyama sighed.

“I suppose not.”

~~

Hinata woke up the next day with a heavy feeling in his chest. He hadn’t even wanted to do the competition but now he felt disappointed. He raised a hand and rubbed at his eyes in frustration. He could hear Kenma tapping away beside him and he looked over.

“’Morning.” He mumbled, pushing the covers away from himself and sitting up. 

“Shouyou. Look.” Kenma said, turning his laptop around. Hinata squinted at the bright screen. It was the sheet music from yesterday except now – it looked almost cohesive. It looked orderly and…playable. Hinata scooted forward and scanned it. 

“It’s not as complicated as you guys played it, but it works. I just left the bones, the meat and took out all of the frills.” 

Hinata was still looking over it. He could see it, the song laid out in front of him. Kenma was right, it wasn’t as impossible as it had been but it was still the same song. 

“This is…this is amazing!” he yelled, jumping off his bed and pulling Kenma into an awkward hug. Kenma yelped and held onto his laptop so it wouldn’t topple off of his bed. 

“You think so?” 

“Yes! Can you print that for me?” Hinata asked, practically jumping up and down. Kenma nodded and hit a few keys, the wireless printer on his desk blinking to life. Hinata walked over and plucked the sheets from the tray, still warm. 

“Thank you Kenma!” he said as he struggled to get his shoes on. He was still in his pajama pants and sleep shirt but he didn’t even think about changing before he raced out of the door and down the hall. His feet carried him to Kageyama’s room and stopped in front of it, knocking without hesitation this time. It was a moment before Kageyama cracked the door open, his hair mussed from sleep and eyes still squinting against the light.

“Hinata?” he asked, voice hoarse. Hinata ignored the warmth blooming in his chest as he pushed his way into the room. Kageyama was still looking at him, confusion clear on his face. Instead of saying anything Hinata thrust the papers against Kageyama’s chest. 

He waited, bouncing with excitement as Kageyama scanned the sheets, his eyes slowly growing wider as he went on.

“Is this-?”

“Yes!”

“So we can-?”

“Yes!” 

Kageyama looked up at him and smiled, a dimple on of his cheeks. Hinata’s heart skipped and they moved at the same time, meeting in the middle, their arms wrapping around each other. Kageyama kissed him, his face still sleep warm and his hair still messy, and Hinata had never felt happier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh lord this took forever to write. It's been a struggle to write lately which is annoying. Here it is though! I hope some of you are still reading this!

**Author's Note:**

> Whew this is a beast of a thing to write. It's been sitting on my laptop for a couple of months and I just needed to get it out.  
> Also the school name is real but I don't know anything about the actual school.


End file.
